Incipient
by Midnight Phantasma
Summary: "Allen didn't really notice, since all he could think about was the fact that his papa had finally come to rescue him. Really, who else would have hair as bright crimson as his own and would immediately come help him the moment he was in trouble? Yes, this made perfectly logical sense in the three-year-old's mind…"
1. A Place to Belong

**A/N: **I was simply bored… :P But please enjoy! :D

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**Disclaimer****: **In my defense—yeah never mind, I don't have an excuse. Really sorry! Despite my plotting, I still can't claim ownership.

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Chapter 1

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**Time Frame**** — ****Night of January 3****rd****, 1885**

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—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Allen~**

A young, auburn-haired boy shivered in fright, trying to blend in with the garbage bags that had been carelessly dumped in the middle of an alleyway. His little nose scrunched up in reaction to the rancid smell, but despite his young age, he instinctively understood it was better than anything that would be waiting for him out there. He'd seen what those men had done to other street children, and even though he hadn't understood at first, he knew it was _bad_.

It was all that stupid man's fault that he was in this situation! He had always been a good boy, but despite doing everything he was supposed to do, and waiting patiently for his parents to come and reclaim him, unlike the rest of the children there, he _never_ seemed to be good enough. The only reason he's been able to survive in that wretched place was because of the kind, grandmotherly nun, who he called Nana, that always had a new story and sweet waiting for him. She had even given him a _name_! It was Allen, but despite the fact that he adamantly told everyone, they stubbornly kept calling him Red, or devil's child if they were trying to be mean.

But as long as _she_ was around, he didn't worry himself too much. Nana had always been a constant in his life, unlike the rest of the children that kept coming and going. At times, it didn't seem to be enough though. He wanted his _real_ parents to come and get him. He'd been in that church for as long as he could remember. According to Nana, his mama and papa were on an adventure, but because they wanted to keep him safe, they had given him into her care. Unfortunately, that came to an end last week when she passed away in old age.

Allen sniffed, curling tightly into himself and trying to keep his tears at bay. The old priest had immediately dumped him out, saying something about him being a cursed, demon child. He was freezing in the bitter cold and his tummy ached for food, and he terribly missed her, but his three-year-old mind knew that the bad men were out there, and they would come get him if he didn't remain quiet. Regrettably, it wasn't long before he heard the sounds of deep, rough voices and big meaty hands shoving trash bags aside to reveal his huddled form.

Silver eyes widened in terror as one of them brutally snatched him by his arm, causing him to yelp loudly at the abrupt pain. This was followed by the sound of two, sharp gun shots a few seconds later. Allen gaped at the thugs with terror, observing the way their bodies loudly smacked against the ground, but was relieved to see that they still appeared to be breathing. They were only unconscious. Allen looked up to see that his savior was even more frightening than the thugs. He had mountains of sleek, vibrant red hair that trailed down his back, and wore a sturdy, black trench coat lined richly in gold, along with a matching top hat. The right side of his face was covered in a mysterious, white mask, he wore wire-rimmed glasses, and a cigarette dangled between his lips; but even more intimidating than the gun held at his side, was his one visible, glaring crimson orb.

The frightening man scoffed at the sight of Allen, muttering something about expecting to rescue beautiful women, and began to sweep away from the scene. Allen didn't really notice, since all he could think about was the fact that his papa had finally come to rescue him. Really, who else would have hair as bright crimson as his own and would immediately come help him the moment he was in trouble? Yes, this made perfectly logical sense in the three-year-old's mind, so with a speed that should have been impossible to a starving child, he scurried and stumbled after his newly found papa and instantly clambered up and clung onto his coat so that he wouldn't get lost in the crowd. Fortunately for him, he went unnoticed, as the coat was already heavy enough, and adding on a couple extra pounds really didn't make much of a difference.

Thankfully for Allen, who was beginning to lose his grip on the coat, they soon made it to his papa's destination, which turned out to be a dingy bar. Allen didn't really know what went on in this type of place, but he suspected it couldn't be good. He didn't let this deter him though; if his papa was brave enough to come in here, then so was he! The moment the redheaded man took a seat, he was instantly flocked by many women. Allen scrutinized them all, attempting to figure out if one of them was his mama, but immediately banished the thought once he eyed their freaky, clown-like faces and their icky stench reared its ugly head against his poor nose. Unluckily for small boy, they instantaneously took note of him.

In an irritating, nasally voice that grated on Allen's poor ear drums, one of them asked, "Cross, honey, what is that _thing_ clinging onto you?"

"I already told you this was Timcanpy, but don't worry he won't be_ bothering_ us," his papa smirked, in what Allen thought was a weird way. And who was Timcanpy? Allen really hoped that wasn't what they originally named him.

"Not _that_ thing," another one said in a sickly sweet voice, though you could clearly hear her annoyance from not having his attention solely on her. This time though, she pointed at Allen with a claw-like finger, "_That_ thing."

His papa blinked, and snapped his gaze towards him in shock, but before he could utter a word of protest, one of the other woman cooed in delight and squealed, "He is _such_ a cutie! Is he your son?"

Before either could reply, one filled with disgust and the other with pride at the thought, another one gleefully squeaked, "_Of course_ he is. Not only is he adorable, they even have matching hair! I've never seen another that owns such beautiful locks!"

Once again, they were interrupted, but by a completely new voice, "General, what do you _think_ you're doing?" Allen looked up to see new woman who'd come forwards and stood before them. She had a thick mane of waist-length, raven hair that made her brilliant, emerald colored eyes stand out and she wore a leather body suit that was similar in design to his papa's, except hers was lined in a shining silver. Allen instantly knew that this must be his mama!

"Hello Maria. Looking as beautiful as ever I see," his papa smirked.

"Don't give me _that_ General Cross, we are on a mission and—" she came to an abrupt stop when she saw Allen clinging unto said general's coat.

Stepping forward and crouching down, she gave Allen a gentle smile, patting his head and then gave Cross a scathing glare. "Why do you have a _child_ in a bar?"

"Damn brat followed me here," his papa spat out, causing Allen to wince. He didn't want to get into trouble already!

Sighing, his mama picked him up into her arms, causing him to cling to her as he relaxed. "Get started on the mission already. Just because you got promoted to a general doesn't mean you can slack off! I'll take care of him."

With that said, his mama began heading out from the bar, but just before exiting, Allen waved at his papa and called out, "Bye-bye, Papa!" In reaction, the General spluttered and choked on his wine. Allen took no notice though, as he was sure he would soon get used to it. His mama stiffened a bit, but didn't pause in her quick pace.

"So that man is your father?" his mama asked. Allen scrunched his face up in confusion.

Nonetheless, he nodded, humming a, "Mhmm," into her neck as he snuggled himself into her warm arms.

"Alright, why don't you get some sleep? You look exhausted," she murmured.

Allen nodded again, and just before nodding off, muttered, "G'night, Mama."

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**Time Frame — Morning of January 4th, 1885**

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"… I'm _just_ saying, how can you be sure he's not? Think of all the poor women you've probably already knocked up without even sparing them a glance! Think about what you've already done to poor—"

"The kid chose his path. It ain't my right to stop him," was the severe reply. Allen frowned, recognizing the arguing voices of his parents.

"That's because you didn't even give the poor child a chance. The minute he told you the offer he was given, you kicked him to the curve!" she replied harshly.

"I only knew the damn kid for a day. What the hell did you _expect_ me to do!?"

Warily sitting up, Allen went unnoticed. He winced at their escalating voices.

"Exactly what a father is _expected_ to do! You _knew_ he was hoping you decided that you actually wanted him around!"

"Yeah?! And how the _hell_ should I know that!? It's not like the bastard I call my father was ever actually around to teach me this shi—"

Not being able to take their heated shouting any longer, Allen burst into tears. The effect was immediate, causing his papa's enraged features to simply return to being irritated. His mama's expression softened into a sad, but gentle smile as she moved forward and crouched down to his level, where he was sitting on the bed. Rubbing small, relaxing circles onto his back and humming an oddly comforting lullaby, he immediately calmed down, his bawling turning into hiccupping sobs. Sitting down and taking him into her arms, she murmured in a low tone, "Cross, I know you came to this town on a mission once before. How many years ago was it?"

"I'd say almost four," he shrugged carelessly.

Nodding, she turned back to Allen, and asked with a kind smile, "What's your name, honey?"

"Awen," he sniffled.

"Do you know how old you are?"

Allen nodded with certainty, because Nana had recently been trying to teach him his ABC's and 123's, and on his last birthday she said she was giving him three pieces of candy, because he was turning three. "Thwee," he answered with a proud smile.

Turning back to his papa, Allen saw her giving him an expectant stare. His papa frowned in annoyance. "Wait, you don't actually expect me to…?"

"Yes General Cross, that is exactly what I expect of you. Though of course I'm not letting you do this on your own, you'd probably kill the poor child!" she exclaimed, causing Allen to gulp nervously. He hadn't thought his papa would be that scary!

Giving her a cocky smirk, he asked her, "And what makes you think he'd like you any better than me?"

Taking the challenge for what it was, his mama looked down at him tenderly and questioned him, "Allen, do you know who I am?"

Allen nodded, happy that he knew the answer to this too, and exclaimed, "Mama!"

She gave the alarmed General a triumphant grin, while he asked in astonishment, "Kid, why the hell do you think _this_ is your mother?"

Allen knew the answer to this as well! He gave his papa the simple reply of, "Pweety," with a dazzling smile.

"Kid's got good taste," he grunted, making Allen's chest swell with pride. Upon noticing his mama's smug grin, the older redhead suggested, "But kid, you could have your pick of any one of those women you saw back there."

This caused his mama's expression to turn sour, prompting Allen to reply truthfully with a small wrinkle of his nose and a shake of his head, "Stinky!"

The green-eyed woman burst into a giggle, and his papa bluntly replied, "You don't smell so good yourself, brat."

Frowning, Allen realized he wasn't kidding, but what else was to be expected after almost a week of dumpster diving? Gently tugging at his mama's silky hair, he asked shyly, "Bath?"

Beaming down at him, she replied, "Of course! This means I can dress you up in some of the clothes I got you!"

"Since when did you have the time to buy the brat some clothes?" his papa scoffed distractedly while taking his pick of the different wine bottles inside the cupboard.

With a huff, she stood, simultaneously picking up her suitcase, and responded with a swish of her hair, "That's for me to know, and you to never find out."

Entering the spacious bathroom, she set down the suitcase near the sink, while sitting Allen down atop the closed toilet lid. She got to work, starting up a warm bath, unfolding the fluffy towels from the cupboard, as well as taking out a bar of soap and hair wash. Allen watched her every movement with avid interest, swinging his legs back and forth, and once everything was set and done, she crouched down in front of him, and began to gently tug off his bulky boots and peel off his dirty socks. Just as she reached for his gloved hands though, he flinched away and froze, eyes wide and fearful.

With a concerned gaze, his mama attempted to caress his cheek but gave up when he cringed from her touch once again. He couldn't let her see _it_. Allen had seen the reactions of some of the other children when he'd been careless enough to leave his gloves behind, and was _not_ eager to relive the experience, especially with his newfound parents. Only Nana had ever been allowed to see it, but she'd said she loved him and that his physical appearance could _never_ interfere with that. Although… shouldn't that mean that his parent should feel the same way?

With a jolt, Allen realized that he had zoned out and that his mama had been calling out to him in a distressed voice, "-llen? Can you hear me? Please tell me what's going on?"

Before she could continue, his papa pushed the door open with a loud bang causing them to jump. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded, appearing vaguely worried as he eyed every corner of the room.

She tossed him one more anxious glance, before his mama turned to his papa and replied in a concerned tone, "I'm not sure, I attempted to take his gloves off, but he just froze and flinched away every time I tried going near him." Turning back to him, she spoke to him with a delicate voice, "Allen, sweety, you know you can trust us. Whatever it is, please don't be ashamed. We'll still love you."

_"Allen, you can trust me. Don't ever be ashamed of who you are. I will always love you no matter what."_

Allen sniffed as his eyes welled up with fresh tears, remembering similar words spoken to him by his nana not too long ago, and then giggled slightly as he remember her following words.

_"And who do you think had to change your diapers and clothing as a baby you ridiculous child. I already knew all about your silly little arm!"_

Realizing he was receiving concerned looks from his parents—or at least from his mama; his papa appeared to be a mix between concerned, aggravated, and bored, Allen wiped away any lingering tears and began to tug at the ratty and worn out glove on his left hand. Finally pulling it off, Allen avoided making any eye contact as he held out his left hand, palm facing downwards, allowing them a clear view of the shining, emerald crystal embedded in the middle of his hand in the shape of a cross. That wasn't the worst part though; his nails where thick and a solid black, and the rest of the skin on his hand—as well as his arm, though that wasn't visible to them—was twisted, gnarled and a blood red color.

With a small gasp, his mama gently stroked his hand in such a loving manner that it surprised him. To his complete shock, she murmured softly, "It's… It's _amazing_! Allen, has your arm always been this way?"

Allen, more enthusiastic than before, nodded happily in reply. Glancing up to see his papa's response to his arm, he saw that his expression actually showed a bit of interest, though the boredom hadn't seemed to completely escape him.

"Allen, do you know what this is?" she asked him, bright-eyed as she indicated the embedded crystal in his hand. He shook his head in confusion; he'd never assumed it to be anything but some weird birth defect (or that's what Nana had believed, in any case).

"It's called Innocence, also known as God's Crystal. It's a weapon that helps defeat the evils of this world," she carefully explained, observing him intently. Allen didn't completely comprehend what she meant, but he was happy to know that it was considered a good thing by his family. She continued, "I have it as well you know? Do you want to see?"

Allen's moonlit eyes widened. He hadn't thought that his family would have it too! With an excited nod, he watched as she grinned at him and gently tugged the collar of her outfit down, showing a cross similar to Allen's embedded just below her throat. "My weapon is my vocal cords. My singing can control others and create illusions."

Nodding, he asked, "Papa?" wondering whether his papa shared the gift as well. Without prompting, his papa flicked away his coat, so that he could retrieve his gun and tossed it to him, causing the poor three-year-old to fumble with the heavy object, thankfully not dropping it. Allen gazed at it in amazement and began to examine it, while his mama scolded his papa, "_Cross_! You can't just give a child a _gun_!"

Before he could give her a scathing remark, Allen, while struggling to hold up the gun to them, asked, "Icence?"

Nodding, his mama corrected him, "Innocence, and the name of it is Judgment."

Allen, slipping off the toilet seat, scrambled over to his papa, and with a bit of effort, held up Judgment towards him, saying, "Icense, Papa!"

"Yes, that's my Innocence," he grunted, snatching it up, and walking away with a swig straight from his wine bottle.

Rolling her eyes, his mama closed the door back up and carefully began to remove the rest of Allen's worn out clothes. "Come on Allen. We better hurry before the water gets any cooler."

And with that, his mama gently dumped him in the spacious tub and began to wash away all the dirt and grime from his hair and body. Allen relaxed under her gentle care and was almost upset when he was finally clean. Slipping him out of the now dirt-filled water, his mama began to dry him with a fluffy towel and dressed him generously so that he could survive the cold January air. She decked him out in a pair of thick black trousers, a white dress shirt mostly hidden by a snug, dark blue sweater and a red ribbon tied around his neck. She also buttoned up a soft, gray coat over the rest of his clothing, covered his dark, red hair in a gray, knitted cap, and added a pair of thick, black gloves. The only thing that hadn't changed were his original black boots, as they were still in good condition.

Cleaning up the mess, his mama finally locked her suitcase, snatched it up, and tossed it near her bed once she opened the door. Grabbing his hand, she led him out of the room. "We'll be downstairs having breakfast, General," she called out to his papa, who was currently sprawled on one of the chairs.

Leading Allen down to the dining area of the inn, the female Exorcist tugged him over to one of the smaller tables. And knowing that his stomach was sensitive from not having had food for days, she ordered him a warm bowl of broth and began to gently feed him in small spoonfuls. Halfway through feeding him though, they were interrupted by an older gentleman. Allen frowned, noticing how he ignored him, his fishy eyes all over his mama. But having been turned away from him, his mama didn't take any note of him. That is, until he placed his small, meaty hand not so gently on her shoulder. Instantly snapping her head back in his direction, his mama gazed up at him with narrowed eyes, and politely asked, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes, actually. You see, I noticed your beauty from across the room, and I said to myself, I must come meet this lovely—" His monologue was interrupted by a crushed, piece of napkin hitting him straight in the face, courtesy of Allen. Allen didn't really know what this man wanted, but his high-pitched voice had started to make his skin crawl.

"Why you insolent, little—" He was interrupted once more by a hand clamping on _his _shoulder this time. Fearfully, he glanced up and was met with a heated crimson orb. The man gulped nervously, a sheen of sweat shining across his forehead, especially when he seemed to realize the resemblance his papa had with him.

"I think it's time you took your leave," the General growled and then smirked at the man's uneasy state, while fingering his gun in an obvious manner. Noticing his actions, the man nodded profusely and stumbled away, and out of the expensive inn. Glancing back at Allen, he reprimanded him with a scoff, "Next time, throw something harder than a paper ball."

Allen blushed sheepishly, knowing he should've gone for the spoon while his mama had been distracted. "No, Allen! It's not polite to throw things at people," his mama scolded him as well.

Allen looked between them in confusion. So, should he throw harder things at people, or refrain from doing it at all? Noticing this, his papa said, "Don't confuse the brat. If we keep disagreeing on the things we tell him to do, he's not going to know who to listen to."

His mama rewarded him with a stunned expression. "Wow, you're actually right. Who knew you had _some_ parental instincts?"

The older redhead huffed and replied, "Well I know the first thing we gotta do before getting him to activate his Innocence is to teach him how to speak. Can't train someone if you can't even communicate with them!"

"Cross, he's only _three_!" she admonished him.

Allen giggled at his parent's silly bantering as they stepped out of the elegant inn, delighted at finally being together with his family. Plus, he had figured it out. He would just throw harder things at people when his mama wasn't looking!

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**Time Frame — Noon of January 4th, 1885**

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Allen giggled as he skipped around his parents, playing with the newly discovered Timcanpy who had been napping out in his papa's coat all morning. Timcanpy would bump him on the head and then fly just out of reach as Allen would try to jump with all his might and catch him. According to his papa, they were patrolling for Akuma. Apparently they had already discovered the hidden Innocence and sent it back to Headquarters, but there was still a large number of hidden Akuma around the town and they had to kill every last one before moving on to their next mission.

Allen didn't really get most of that except for the part where his parents would be fighting. Or at least his papa would, while his mama took him to safety. The only reason he had been allowed to come was because his papa said that he had to get used to this sort of thing if he ever wanted to become an Exorcist like them. All Allen knew was that he didn't want to disappoint him.

Huffing in annoyance when he noticed Timcanpy landing on top of his papa's hat, he decided that if jumping wasn't going to work, then climbing was going to have to do. Allen weaved his way through his parents' legs once again so as not to arouse suspicion and waited for them to pause at the next corner. Finally seeing his chance, Allen grabbed onto his papa's coat, not unlike he had done the night before, but this time he began to climb his way up. Allen tried scurrying up as fast as possible, before his papa noticed him, but unfortunately he was only just below his shoulder when he noticed his papa's glaring eye focused down on him. Gulping, he stared as his papa growled, "What do you think you're doing you damn brat?"

Allen flinched, but defended himself nonetheless in a childish voice while pointing up at Timcanpy with a pout, "Tim cheated!"

His papa rolled his eyes, annoyance evident on his face as he grabbed Allen by the scruff of his coat and set him down on the ground. Next, he grabbed Timcanpy off the top of his hat and held him near Allen while commanding, "Timcanpy, stick with Allen for now."

Allen cheered as Timcanpy landed in his outstretched palms, and beamed, "Thanks, Papa!" Allen ran off to catch up with his mama—who, having not noticed their pause, had begun to leave them behind—so that he could show her.

Walking all together once again, Allen laughed as he began to play a new game with Timcanpy, that is, until he was harshly bitten by him on his right index finger. Allen yelped as the stinging pain in his finger made itself cruelly known.

Crouching down in front of him, his mama asked him gently, "Where does it hurt Allen?"

Tugging off his right glove, with hadn't received any of the damage, he held up his bright red finger. Whimpering, he muttered, "Tim bit me. Hurts."

Gently taking a hold of his hand, his mama gave his hurt finger a tender kiss and softly scolded him, "You shouldn't be too harsh on Tim, Allen. If you're not careful, you'll accidentally hurt him, which will cause him to defend himself. Now please apologize to him."

Nodding, Allen looked at up at the golden golem with his big, moonlit eyes and said, "Sowy, Tim." Truthfully, he was pretty sure that Tim had done that on purpose, but decided to listen to his mama for her sake. Plus, the results weren't disappointing, as soon afterwards, Tim landed on top of his gray cap and snuggled into it, making himself comfortable. His mama stood up again, rewarding him with a smile, and then turned back around to continue patrolling the town.

"He's not just some toy, you stupid brat," his papa sneered at him, before following his mama.

Silver eyes narrowed. That was it! If his papa wasn't going to play nice, then neither was he! Cupping Timcanpy in his regloved hands once again, Allen whispered a few words to him. Timcanpy seemed to think over what he had been told, before bobbing his round body up and down a couple of times in an affirmative response. Being as quick as possible, Tim flew over and around his papa, snapped his sharp teeth around his nose, and immediately flew back to his spot on top of Allen's head.

Loud cursing could be heard from his papa, causing a couple of townspeople to stare at him. He snapped his head back around with a sharp glare directed at both Allen and Tim, ruthless words on the tip of his tongue, until he noticed Allen's innocent smile directed at him, with an impossibly cruel glint in his eye that he hadn't thought possible. With a glare, his papa grumbled to himself loud enough for him to hear, "Maybe you really _are _my son."

And that was all the acknowledgement needed to lift up Allen's spirits again.

"Allen, come here now!" his mama demanded strictly, causing Allen to scramble to her side. "General, it looks like we have company."

Just as she said this, Allen watched in a mixture of awe and fear as about a dozen townspeople surrounding them began to transform into the most hideous creatures he'd ever seen. Peeling off their human skin with a sickening snap, balls of scaly, dark matter rose and floated above them with dozens of protruding canons and depressing, clown-like masks for faces. Allen stood on shaky legs, almost gagging at the revolting machines, but tried putting on a brave face when he realized that his parents didn't look a bit deterred, unlike the rest of the townspeople who ran off while screaming their heads off.

"Maria, take the kid out of here and keep him safe, but keep him near enough so that he may watch. The sooner he learns what it means to be an Exorcist, the better," his papa commanded, while slipping out Judgment.

"But Cross! He's only three, please—" she begged, before she was harshly interrupted

"It doesn't _matter_. The Order does not care for age, and if they find him weak, he'll go through hell!" he barked.

"But—"

"Maria, there is no time! Do as I've ordered!" Seeing her hesitate again, he growled, "And that is a command from your superior."

With a stiff nod, his mama took him into her arms and ran at an impossible speed just as the Level 1 Akuma began to rapidly fire bullets. Easily dodging the projectiles, she weaved her way through a few buildings, any Akuma that attempted to follow her being eradicated by his papa. Allen felt breathless; everything was happening so fast it was practically a blur! Reaching an alleyway, his mama easily jumped up on top of a dumpster lid and then leaped onto the roof, allowing them a clear view of the General surrounded by Akuma. Crouching down, his mama held him protectively, but he leaned forward still, watching his papa in admiration. He made it look so easy as he evaded every bullet blasted in his direction, Judgment never once missing a target. Allen observed as each and every one of the Akuma exploded to shreds, but he felt no pity for them. In fact, the sorrowful faces of the Akuma looked somewhat relieved when the Innocence came into contact with them. Allen had a feeling that Innocence didn't destroy the Akuma, but in fact, saved them.

Though the battle had felt like hours for the young boy, it had truly only lasted a minute. Probably less if his papa hadn't looked like he was enjoying the fight. He felt his mama breathe a sigh of relief. Throughout the whole ordeal, she had been watching him in concern, as if waiting for an unwanted reaction. Allen was proud that he'd not disappointed her. In a way, it reminded him of this morning when he himself had been afraid of their reactions over his arm.

Patting her cheek with his small hand, he beamed at her and repeated some of her earlier words, "Twust me."

Letting out a shaky laugh, she nodded and hugged him closer to her with a relieved sigh. Standing once again, seemingly more relaxed, she effortlessly jumped down onto the now-deserted streets that were a result of the earlier commotion, and started to make her way back to the street she'd had left her papa in. They arrived there in a matter of minutes and met back up with the General.

The pretty woman took a deep breath and began to speak in an apologetic voice, "General Cross, I—"

"Don't bother," his papa grunted. "Anyway, we'll stay another night just in case there're any stragglers. With three Accommodators in one place, plus all the extra pieces of Innocence I was given as a general, they'll eventually come crawling out and right into the barrel of my gun."

Finally glancing down at him, his papa sneered, "So, you think you're up to becoming a _real _Exorcist."

Not letting his tone of voice deter him, Allen exclaimed, "I wanna be like Papa!"

His mama grimaced as if in disagreement, but then smiled at him and suggested, "Well if you want to be as powerful as your papa, you need to keep your strength up. Why don't we take you out for lunch?"

Allen nodded enthusiastically, as he was still feeling weak from having to starve for days. An idea suddenly occurred to him and he quickly whispered it into his mama's ear. She smirked and nodded, as if liking the idea very much. Realizing that his papa was staring at them suspiciously, she raised an eyebrow and said expectantly, "Well, lead the way General."

He narrowed his eyes, but turned around nonetheless and began to sweep away. Quickly catching up to the General, his mama raised him and swiftly, but gently, dropped him on his papa's back and continued walking as if nothing had occurred. He felt his papa slightly stiffen as he tightened his arms around his neck and began to curse loudly.

"Damn it woman, why'd you dump the kid on me?!" he demanded with a shout. Allen silently giggled, having expected his papa's reaction. He was starting to become predictable.

Shrugging nonchalantly, the female Exorcist easily replied, "Your _son_, felt like being carried by his papa."

Before he could reply, Allen hadthe bright idea to steal his papa's hat and place it on his own head. Timcanpy immediately moved out of the way and settled itself comfortably down once again, except this time on his master's hat.

Cursing again, his papa yelled up at him, "What do you think you're doing now, twerp!?"

Allen winced. Maybe that hadn't been the best idea.

"Cross," his mama suddenly said in such a sweet and innocent voice, causing both him and his papa to pause and gaze warily at her while she was still turned around. Snapping her head back in a flurry of raven locks and giving his papa a horrific, spine-chilling glare, she growled in a low voice, "You drop Allen even one inch, I'll _kill _you."

The General suddenly froze and gave her a very stiff nod. She beamed at him and continued walking. At once, he and his papa shuddered.

"Mama scawy," Allen muttered, as his papa's hat began to slip down his face.

"You got that right kid," his papa replied, and then snarled, "Now give me back my damn hat!"

* * *

Arriving at a small and simple restaurant, they took a seat, his mama taking him back into her arms and sitting him down on her lap. They ordered a simple meal, or at least his mama did, his papa only asking for wine, scowling as his mama made him throw away his cigarette.

"What's with the loss of appetite?" his papa asked with a raise of his eyebrow as he tipped his head back and drank some of the wine given to him. Allen frowned, as he was sure his mama had ordered a regular sized meal.

His mama shrugged, "I had an extra big breakfast this morning before Allen woke up."

"What about you brat, a Parasitic-type weapon like you shouldn't have survived without food for even a couple days," his papa frowned at him. Allen simply shrugged with a perplexed expression, not having a clue as to what he meant.

"It probably has to do with the fact that his Innocence is still dormant. I ate like a normal person up until I actually activated my Innocence and began using it," his mama mused.

The redhead nodded and asked, "So when will you be going back to the Order."

Allen glanced up and noticed his mama frowning in thought, before she answered, "I'd rather not leave Allen alone with you just yet. I'll just take missions through my golem for a while."

"Good, you can take the brat off my hands," his papa scoffed. Allen pouted; he didn't have to be so mean.

She shook her head and said with a smirk, "You'll be coming with me of course. Remember, your job as a general is to find and train Accommodators. And you've got one right here!" At this, she held Allen up to his face. Pushing him back, his papa grumbled something inaudible.

"What was that, General Cross?" she asked with a smug grin.

Before he could retort, the nervous waiter came over and set the food carefully on the table and quickly scurried away at his papa's scathing glare. That's when Allen decided that his papa should really smile more often. Slipping off his mama's lap before she could protest, he scurried over to his papa's side and scrambled onto his lap. He frowned down at him and asked, "What do you think you're doing now, you twerp?"

Lifting his small hands up onto his papa's cheeks, he said, "Smile, Papa!"

His papa's one visible eye widened, but before he could reply, his mama said, "Come here Allen, you need to eat."

"Do as your mother says," his papa ordered. Before he did though, Allen asked, "Papa happy?"

His papa grumbled a barely audible yes, which caused Allen to beam at him before rushing back to his mama. His papa was certainly one of a kind.

* * *

Allen was walking around town again, while holding onto his mama's hand. The only difference this time was the fact that he was exhausted. Allen's feet were starting to drag on the ground, his eyes were drooping, and his head was bobbing up and down while trying to keep awake. It wasn't long before he started to let out loud, cat-like yawns.

Crouching down in front of him, his mama gently asked him, "What's the matter Allen."

Fisting his hands and rubbing them against his eyes, he murmured, "'m sleepy. Nap time."

Frowning, his mama picked him up and handed him over to his surprised papa. "Why are you giving the useless brat to _me_?"

"Cross, you're his father. Would it kill you to call him by his name?" his exasperated mama reprimanded him. Before he could respond, she continued, "Anyway, someone has to continue the patrol, so I need you to take him back to the inn and watch over him while he sleeps."

"But why do _I_ have to be the one to do it?" his papa demanded.

"Oh, honestly Cross, stop acting so childish. You have to start taking responsibility over him as well. You _are_ his father after all. Plus, there's the fact that as soon as I leave you'll head straight to the nearest bar," she explained, an eye roll accompanying her latter statement.

Not giving him a chance to reply, she turned around and sauntered away. Allen was finally lost to the world, the last words being heard by him was his papa's grumbling voice, "Why does she always have to be right?"

"'Cause she's mama," Allen mumbled before drifting off, not taking notice of his papa's scowl.

* * *

**Time Frame — Night of January 5th, 1885**

* * *

Allen's brows furrowed in frustration as he stared down at his ungloved, left hand. His mama had briefly mentioned something about learning how to activate his Innocence on his own, but he didn't understand. He could hardly move his arm in the first place, as it had always been stiff and mostly useless, only responding to him when he was stubborn enough.

At the current moment, they were settled in a private compartment of a train. They'd been traveling for hours, since the mission his mama had taken next through a weird, black, bat-like thing that resembled Timcanpy—but lacked his personality—was all the way across the country. His papa was currently passed out on one of the benches with an empty wine bottle in hand and Timcanpy curled up next to him, while his mama had run off in order to attain some dinner for them. While he waited, Allen had seated himself down on the floor, trying to make his left arm more flexible at the suggestion of his mama, who'd given him a deck of playing cards snatched from his papa's coat. Apparently it was a bad habit of his, so she said he could keep them for now.

Realizing he was wasting time, Allen went back to shuffling the cards around in a random order, not really knowing what the heck he was doing. It seemed that Timcanpy had woken, if he had even been asleep in the first place, because the golden golem suddenly bopped him in the head none too gently.

"Ouch!" Allen yelped, rubbing at the throbbing mark on his forehead. He glared at Timcanpy; that is, until the golem opened its mouth filled with unbelievably sharp teeth, and images begin sprouting out. Allen watched in amazement as Timcanpy began showing him dozens upon dozens of recordings that he had witnessed of his papa and other shady figures playing with the deck of cards.

Allen frowned. It didn't seem like his papa was too good at cheating. He knew all the tricks of the trade, but it seemed that he was caught most of the time because of how drunk he was. Just as the images ended and his mama entered the compartment with some food for him, Allen began to practice shuffling the cards the way he had seen his papa do and resolved that he would become a good poker player. After all, his earlier resolve of activating his Innocence could only interest a three-year-old for so long.

* * *

Grabbing a hold of his papa's hand in excitement, Allen pointed to the humongous contraption with his other hand, exclaiming, "Look Papa, look!"

His papa made an inaudible grumble, but didn't rip his hand away from his. Might've had something to do with the scary look his mama was giving him. His mama took his other hand in her's as they began walking through the brightly lit town. Ahead, a little beyond the town perimeters, colorful lights and large movable machines were clearly visible. Music and shrieks of excitement made themselves known to Allen's ears. It took all of the three-year-old's willpower not to break away from his parent's hold and run towards the lively sight.

"Seems like the carnival's in town," his mama remarked after what seemed like an eternity, though in reality, it had only been a couple of seconds. "Would you like us to pay it a visit, Allen?"

Allen looked up into his mama's equally enthusiastic jade eyes and with a hum of agreement, began to shake with anticipation. He tried to calm down a bit though when he noticed his papa's glare.

"What about your mission?" his papa demanded gruffly as he lit up a new cigarette.

"Honestly Cross, that stuff is disgusting," she huffed. "And anyway, according to the Finder I spoke with, all of the strange sightings have been spotted during the night, near the carnival grounds once everything has been shut down. They've been tracking this same carnival for some months now. Fortunately, they're always on the move, so no Akuma have showed up," she explained. She then added casually, "And there's no harm in allowing Allen to have little fun."

"What about the Finders themselves? Don't you think they'd find it odd that you dragged a snot-nosed brat and a _general_ on your mission? Plus, who's going to deliver the Innocence back to Headquarters once we do find it?"

With a shrug she replied, "I've already taken care of it. A couple words of persuasion convinced them that I could handle it on my own. And there'll be another Finder passing through here tomorrow who's meeting up with a different Exorcist. I'll just have them deliver it."

"Really?" he hummed, and then smirked, saying thoughtfully, "Seems odd though. For someone who's kind of a clean-freak, you seem pretty eager to attend some filthy carnival."

"I really don't know what you're talking about, General Cross," she replied stiffly, pointedly avoiding eye-contact.

"Oh, come off it Maria," the General chuckled. "I saw the look on your face when we left the train station. And I _do_ recall you once mentioning trying out some of that _legendary cotton candy_," he said with a stifled laugh, his smirk growing wider by the second.

"You know what _General_, your right, this _is_ my mission! So why don't you get lost in some dirty bar like usual?! Let's go Allen! I'm taking you to the carnival!" his mama exclaimed as she began dragging him along.

"Yes, Mama!" Allen replied excitedly, giggling slightly at his mama's flushed face. His parents were so silly sometimes.

* * *

To the surprise of his mama, his papa hadn't ditched them, but accompanied them instead. But prior to, they made a swift stop by an inn in order to rent a room and drop off their luggage; Allen was quick to shed his thick grey coat and woolen hat as he had started to feel a little stuffy. Currently though, he was on cloud nine. The normally frightening, dark night was drowned out by colorful and twinkling lights; they were so bright and blinding Allen could hardly see a star in the black sky. His ears buzzed with the sounds of music and laughter and Allen was pretty sure he would die of hunger if he didn't get some of that deliciously smelling, greasy food in his stomach soon.

His papa looked like he wished he were anywhere but here, though he did seem slightly amused every time he glanced at his mama, who looked to be as awed as he was by the sights and sounds. And oh, who could forget the _smells_?!

Tugging at his papa's sleeve, he looked up without flinching, into his papa's glaring maroon eye and demanded, "Food, Papa, food! I hungwy!"

"Will you stop that you brat?" His papa snarled down at him, ripping his sleeve away from Allen's small hands. Allen pouted, but wasn't surprised by his reaction.

"_Cross_…" his mama growled warningly.

Before she could say anymore, his papa huffed, "Fine, I'll get the kid some food." Then added with a smirk, "You can gush over your cotton candy while I do that." And before she could give her indignant reply, his papa dragged him away to the nearest food stand they saw.

"Now what do you want brat?" he questioned Allen roughly while they waited in line.

Taking in the wonderful smells with unconcealed excitement, Allen exclaimed, "Evwythin!"

Lightly smacking him upside the head, his papa harshly admonished him, "Punk! You think I'm made out of money?!"

"Ow!" Allen yelped, holding his slightly throbbing head and then pouted with a frown, crossing his arms stubbornly. Realizing they were in front of the line facing a nervous young man, his papa wrinkled his nose at him and to Allen's indignant surprise, yanked him up by his maroon sweater, holding him up to the vendor's face.

"Point to one thing, and that's what you're getting brat," his papa ordered him, with a no-nonsense voice.

With a sigh, Allen looked at the displayed food and finally pointed to some of the mouth-watering, foot-long hot dogs. Seeing that the vendor was still timidly standing there, his papa barked, "Well, get the kid what he wants!"

Almost tripping over his own feet in the small space, the man scurried to get Allen's order, finally giving the hotdog to him with a fearful glance at his papa, as if expecting to receive some sort of complaint. Instead, his papa just tossed some coins onto the counter with a scoff and set Allen back on his feet, sweeping back to where they had left his mama. Allen had to jog to keep up with his long strides, but it wasn't long before they spotted his mama sitting on one of the picnic tables with a dreamy look on her face. Turns out she had followed his papa's advice and bought some cotton candy, which she was delicately chewing on at the moment. Finally joining her, Allen began to enthusiastically eat his hotdog, with a wide grin on his face. It really did taste as good as it smelled.

Noticing them, his mama scolded him, "Allen! Manners."

Giving her a sheepish grin with food-covered cheeks, she rolled her eyes and grabbed a napkin, gently wiping his face clean. Finishing the last half of his hotdog at a more sedate pace, Allen got up and insisted, "Ride! Ride!"

Before he could receive a mocking remark from his papa, his mama agreed with equal enthusiasm and asked, "What do you want to ride first, Allen?"

Allen looked around, and pointed to the tallest and brightest machine he had seen yet, which was the in the shape of a huge circle. Both his mama and him gazed at it in awe and proceeded to drag his papa to the line, both slightly shaking in excitement. After what seemed like forever, they finally gained entrance to one of the small compartments. His mama and him sat across from his papa, and each gazed through their own window in amazement as the everything beneath them grew smaller and smaller by the second; though his papa seemed more keen on gazing at his mama's pretty face, her emerald eyes sparkling with eagerness. Allen giggled slightly, but didn't blame him.

No words were spoken throughout the ride, each in their own little world of admiration. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the ride came to an end. Exiting, Allen continued looking around, wondering where they would go next.

"How did you like that, Allen?" asked his mama, her face glowing with wonder, just as much as his.

Beaming at her, he thought of the rainbow of brilliant colors he had witnessed and replied, "So pweety!"

Before any answer could be given, the lights that had enthralled Allen so much before, began to suddenly shut down around them. The workers' easy demeanor abruptly turned sketchy as their faces darkened and they quickly began to usher all the townspeople back home, attempting to get everyone off the rides as swiftly as possible. Their questions were soon answered when a loud, cheerful voice echoed throughout the grounds.

_"I'm sorry, but we seem to be having some technical difficulties with the machinery and would like to evacuate everyone for their own safety. But don't doubt that all will be fixed by tomorrow! Come back with friends and family for an undoubtedly fun time! We'll be expecting you!"_

The announcement ended, and before long, Allen and his parents were guided outside as everything else was shut down and locked up. A worried frown was etched onto his mama's face as she lead them to the nearby forest that surrounded the town so as not to be noticed by the workers who were leading away any stragglers.

"This was also mention in the report," his mama remarked, voice hushed. "They've recently been shutting everything down earlier than normal, as if they knew supernatural occurrences would take place during the night. But it never mentioned anything about actually evacuating the place. Has it really gotten this bad…?" his mama mused as she peeked from behind the foliage, her face frowning in concentration. His papa was as relaxed as ever, leaning casually against a tree, lighting up a new cigarette while his mama was distracted. Allen sighed moodily, realizing the fun was over. Then again, he would he get to be with his parents while they did their job, and at night too!

"So, what's the plan?" his papa asked offhandedly, as if this was a daily—or nightly—occurrence for them, which it probably was. Allen perked up at this, curious to hear his mama's response.

"The _plan_, is for _me_ to locate the Innocence, while_ you_ take Allen back to the inn so that he can sleep. He's only a child," she replied with conviction.

His papa scoffed, "Please, you know he needs to get used to this sort of thing. God knows how many damn times we've been attacked in the middle of the fu—"

"Cross! Will you cease with the cursing? Not only do I not enjoy hearing it, but Allen is with us now. I will not have him learning such foul language!" she scolded.

"—cking night," his papa continued as if uninterrupted. "You know perfectly well that the sooner he gets used to this, the better prepared he'll be. You think throwing him to the dogs back at the Order unprepared will do him any good? _Especially_ if they have him train under someone like Socaro?"

His mama visibly shuddered, and then sighed in defeat. "All right, fine. Really, all I know is that apparently the carnival 'becomes alive at night'. Finder's words, not mine. We'll just have to wait for the rest of the workers to leave. They set their tents up further into the forest, a good distance away, so they won't know we're here."

"So it wasn't them that reported to the Black Order?"

Shaking her head, she confirmed, "No, they were actually very tight-lipped about it when they were questioned by the Finders. It seems they were frightened to silence by whatever's been happening to their carnival."

"Hmmm…" was his papa's only response.

They waited about another twenty minutes in the concealment of the forest, before venturing out and back to the entrance booth where townspeople were supposed pay the admission fee. Carefully stepping over the metal chain that hung across the entrance, with a _Closed _sign dangling from it, they gazed around the now darkened and deserted carnival, the moon being their only light. Allen shivered at the eerie feeling, no longer feeling comfortable with the place that had seemed so bright and warm a short time ago.

"We'll walk around for now. I'm not sure how long it'll actually be before any strange occurrences began happening," she murmured in a low tone and took a hold of his hand, much to Allen's relief, as she began to lead them in a random direction.

They hadn't been walking for long, before it became noticeable. It wasn't anything big really, just small occurrences; lights blinking in and out, random rides activating for minutes on end before coming to an abrupt stop, or even something as small as the cotton candy machine spinning at random intervals. But each and every happening made Allen jump just a little higher and shiver in fear just a little harder. The howling wind that picked up chilled him to the bone, and he greatly regretted leaving his coat behind.

His mama would squeeze his hand in comfort, but when that didn't seem to settle down his thumping heart as much, his right hand sought out his papa's. Thankfully his papa didn't shake him away as he normally would have.

Finally, his mama spoke in barely a whisper, "Without the threat of Akuma, it'd be best if we found the Innocence as fast as possible before they _do_ sense it."

"What are you suggesting?" His papa questioned, impatience visible in his tone.

"We should split up. You and Allen can take all of the north and I'll take all of the south side. The sooner we find it, the less time it has to make stranger things occur. Trust me, I heard what the Finder described. This isn't even the start," she explained in a grave tone.

He nodded, and without even a complaint, dragged Allen along. When his mama was out of sight, his papa shook his hand off and instructed him roughly, "If you see anything that might even look or suggest to the location of Innocence, you tell me. Got it?"

Nodding and feeling very determined, Allen answered, "Yes, Papa."

As they walked along, more noticeable occurrences began to happen. Food was served to invisible guests, and hollow laughter was carried with the shrieking wind from rides acting of their own accord. It made Allen's skin crawl, though his papa seemed unaffected. Noticing his questioning gaze, his papa replied to his unasked question, "There are worst things to be afraid of." And despite Allen's shudders of fear, he believed him.

As they passed by the House of Mirrors, Allen noticed small green flashes coming from within. Forgetting his papa's instructions, he slipped away unnoticed and inside the House. He finally located the green flashes easily enough, after smacking into the mirrors a couple of times. Unfortunately, it wasn't the aforementioned Innocence, but just a little toy that had most likely been won at one of the game booths, but probably dropped in the haste to get away.

Allen frowned in disappointment, and glanced up, the bright, green light finally permitting him to observe his reflection. Suddenly remembering his papa, Allen turned and was about to flee the House, but ran straight into a mirror instead. Rubbing his aching nose, he looked up and realized that the bright light the toy emitted had dimmed to an eerie glow.

The shadows pulled and bended until he couldn't make himself out anymore; darkness surrounded him and pressed at him, cutting him off from his senses, and then wailing and shrieks resonated, pounding in his ear drums so painfully, it made his head buzz. The mirrors that had been so harmless before, began twisting and turning, occasionally smacking him around, and showing him horrendous images of red-eyed demon children with gnarled, devil, left arms.

_Aaaah! What is that thing?! Get away from him!_

_He's just a demon, don't talk to him!_

_It's the devil boy! That repulsive arm makes me sick!_

_Despicable child, you don't belong here! Don't ever come back here again!_

Fat tears spilled down his cheeks as Allen wailed and tried to block out the sounds and images. "Not twue! Not twue! I no demon! Papa! Mama! _HELP!_"

It felt like it would never end; the screeching and twisted images swirled about him in an endless cycle. The voices of horror and disgust thrumming against his ears, and just when he thought he was about to break from the despair, a pair of warm arms were tightly embracing him and a familiar rough voice growled, "What were you _thinking_?"

Taking fistfuls of the coat in his small hands, Allen continued to shake and sob, but in relief this time. All the while he murmured in a whimpering voice, "I sowy. I sowy."

His papa rubbed his back in his usual rough manner, but it came as a comfort to Allen. Soon enough, a pair of gentler arm held him and rocked him back and forth. "Cross, what happened?" his mama demanded.

"Kid slipped away while I wasn't looking and into the House of Mirrors. God knows what it showed him. Could hear his damn shrieks from a mile away," the General responded in irritation, though there seemed to be a small note of concern in his tone.

Before his mama could reply, Allen attempted to reassure her, "Mama, I no demon. I no demon." Her large jade eyes filled with tears and her legs suddenly seem shaky as his papa had to steady her. Leaning against him, Allen was slightly squished between them, but he didn't mind much. This is where he belonged.

Finally finding her voice, she said with complete assurance, "Of course you're not a demon, Allen! You're my beautiful baby boy!"

"Mhmm," Allen hummed happily in agreement.

Finally regaining her stance, they began heading for the exit of the grounds, Allen still being held tightly in her arms.

"Where was the Innocence?" the redheaded General wondered at one point

Shrugging, she tried to reply in the same tone of voice, though it still shook a little, "The most obvious place it could have been in. It was in the Control Room. That's how it was able to control everything in the carnival. Though I have no idea how it could have possibly ended up in there."

"Too bad there weren't any Akuma. Judgment's been itching to be used for the past two days. Maybe I should take Allen with me to the forest tomorrow, for some practice," he mused.

"As long as Allen isn't the _target_," his mama warned him, her eyes narrowed.

"And where's the fun in that?" his papa held a knowing smirk.

"_Cross!_"

* * *

**A/N: **So, if you like this, you're probably going to hate me now, because I wasn't planning on updating this anytime soon (or at all…). I just have a lot of D. Gray-Plot Bunnies floating around my Documents, and I felt like posting one of them for once. I really should get these out more often, but that requires editing! Haha, for what it's worth, I at least hope you liked it. Well, wanna tell me what you think?(;

**P.S. **If any fans of **Timely Mishaps **are reading this, I apologize for the lack of updates. I wrote the first half of the next chapter and then stopped, because I wasn't sure what I wanted to make of the chapter as a whole. I mean, they tend to be pointless in the first place, but this one was just going nowhere! Anyway, a small plot bunny hit me the other day (aka yesterday) so I finally have an idea of where I'm going with it!:D Yay for me~!^.^ (And for you, because you should be getting an update real soon!)


	2. A Day to Celebrate

**A/N: **Wow, I can't believe I'm updating this… Well, thank you very much to **The Magnetic Witch**, **SilverWolf442**, **ZDrive**, **Snipperita**, **Celestial Wolves**, **Ennael**, **uniquemangalover**, **Sakura Hyuga**, **kickassdani**,**We Are The Fans**, **NirvanaFrk97**, **Guest**, **lunabane**, **Glaux Bryonia**, **hobozrule**, and **tentendarkmoon **for writing lovely reviews!(; Really appreciate you guys! :D

I know Cross was a jerk in the last chapter, but he _will_ get better over time! Maybe… Enjoy!^.^

* * *

**Disclaimer****: ***Pulling petals* I own it… I own it not! I own it… I own it not! I own it… I own it not! *No petals left* What the heck?! That was a complete disappointment! x( Stupid flowers…

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

**Time Frame**** — ****Morning of February 1st, 1885**

* * *

—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Allen~**

Allen ducked, dodged, ran, and rolled until he could do no more. Gasping for breath, Allen collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, his lungs burning and his muscles aching. Sweat poured off his body, and all he could think of was that he'd happily die right now if he could.

"Useless brat," he heard his papa scoff under his breath, and then in a louder voice, "It hasn't even been an hour, Idiot Apprentice! Now get up and start dodging!"

"Yes Masta," Allen mumbled in a barely audible voice. His papa said that when they were training, he was to call him Master, and he in turn would be called Idiot Apprentice. Allen didn't appreciate it very much, but didn't want to think of the consequences if he were to argue; or even worse, if he tried to tell his mama what was going on.

Getting up on shaky legs, he began to evade all the bullets that were sent his way, but it wasn't long before he collapsed once again.

"Hey! What's wrong with you Idiot Apprentice!?" his papa demanded.

"So… tired… and… hungwy… can't… move," Allen gasped, his vision becoming blurry from his effort.

"Pathetic," his papa grunted, but nonetheless hefted him up on his shoulder. "Let's go get something to eat."

That was all it took for Allen to sigh in relief. He didn't really mind his papa's insults all that much anymore. After having a month to get used to them, Allen realized that it was his own way of telling him to try harder.

Arriving at a small diner, his papa roughly dumped him on chair, and instructed, "Order something and be quick about it. We need to get you to the inn and cleaned up before your mother gets back from her mission downtown."

Allen nodded and ordered a quick sandwich. They made quite a sight; a dirt and sweat covered Allen swinging his legs back and forth and happily humming while he ate, and his papa glaring moodily at anyone who dared glance their way, while smoking a cigarette. They were quiet for the most part, at least until Allen wiped the last of the crumbs from his mouth and his papa mentioned, "Hey kid, make sure to get something for your mother. It's her birthday in two days."

Gasping in excitement, Allen asked, "Like what?"

"Something that's pretty and compliments her," was his papa's automatic response as he stood.

"And you?" Allen asked, clambering off his chair and wondering what his papa was getting her.

With a wicked smirk, his papa replied, "I'm giving her the best night of her life."

"Huh?" Allen frowned in confusion, not sure what his papa meant, but then shrugged it off when he didn't receive a response.

Skipping after his papa, he caught up with him as they left the diner. After a five minute walk, they reached the inn they were currently staying at and following a quick bath and a change of clothes—which, to his papa's displeasure, he had to occasionally assist with—Allen was good as new.

Noticing that his papa, now stripped of his Exorcist coat, was too busy relaxing and drinking a glass of wine, Allen slipped easily enough out of their current room and headed out into the busy street. Looking around, he spotted the jewelry shop that he had taken notice of, earlier on their way to the inn, and headed straight for it.

A bell dinged as he entered the small shop and the young man behind the counter to the right took notice him with a surprised blink. "Well, hey there little guy. What could you possibly be looking for in a place like this?"

In the most serious voice he could muster, Allen replied, "Mama's bithay pwesent."

Offering him an amused grin, the man seemed to humor him as he responded, "Really now? Well, why don't you allow me to help you out. How does your mama look?"

Stepping in the man's direction and furrowing his eyebrows in concentration, Allen described, "Gween eyes. Soft, da'k hai' and vewy pweety!"

"Hmm, is that so?" he replied, eyeing the different necklaces and earrings on the display case beneath him. "Ah, here we go. How about these?"

Slipping open the glass case, he took out a pair of dangly earrings that had dozens of minuscule amethysts hanging from them each in a complicated pattern, causing them to swirl and shimmer in the light.

Silver eyes lighting up in excitement, Allen automatically exclaimed, "Yes!"

Standing on his tippy toes, Allen's small hands reached out and tried grasping at them, but before he could get a hold of them, the man snapped them back and said with a shake of his head, "Sorry squirt, but unless you got the money, you're not getting these."

Allen frowned in frustration and huffed. Now what was he suppose to do?

"Tell you what, if you can beat me at any card game, they're yours," he bargained with a cocky smirk.

Allen's eyes lit up again, and with a determined nod, decided, "Poke'!"

The man gave him a startled glance, but nodded and said, "Poker it is then. Name's Mason by the way. Come on."

Placing the earrings in a small velvet box, Mason led Allen to the back room, where he indicated for him to sit at the small table. Placing the velvet box at the center of the table, he sat down as he fished out a deck of cards from his pocket. Before Mason could even attempt to shuffle them though, they were snatched away by Allen's tiny hands, as he began to shuffle them himself, discreetly slipping any good cards he saw into his sleeves.

"A prodigy, huh? Who taught you how to play?" Mason asked, as he sat back and watched him deal the cards.

"Papa," Allen muttered distractedly, though in reality he was referring to all the images that Timcanpy had shown him of his papa playing. Speaking of which, where was the flighty golem? As if to answer his question, Timcanpy suddenly dragged itself out from beneath the dark green sweater he wore over his white button up, and settled atop his dark red hair. Allen didn't take much note of it though, as he was used to Tim appearing and disappearing at the most random times.

Mason didn't seem to agree though, as he jumped back and exclaimed, "Whoa, what is that thing?"

"Tim," he replied, finally laying out all the cards. Realizing that the game was about to begin, both their expression drew to a blank as they stared at the cards they received.

It was fair to say that the game didn't last too long. After switching the cards around a couple of times, and slipping out the ones he needed from his sleeve while pretending to grab new ones from the pile, Allen was confident he would win. The last month of staying up and practicing had totally paid off.

Just as Allen was about to set down his cards down, and claim his mama's present, Mason remarked, "Wait, before we do this, I think it'd be fair if you offered me something. It wouldn't really be just if I won and didn't receive anything, now would it?"

Rolling his eyes dramatically—something he'd learned from his mama—Allen sighed in exasperation (the action was quite amusing on his young face) and said while pointing up at the napping Timcanpy, "I give you Tim."

"Hmm, fair enough I guess," Mason nodded in agreement.

Allen smiled in satisfaction, and without even contemplating the idea of allowing Mason to set his cards down first—giving him the momentary satisfaction of thinking he'd won—Allen laid the cards down flat on the table for Mason to see, while exclaiming, "Woyal Stwaight Fwush!"

Mason's eyes widened comically as his mouth opened and closed in an imitation of a fish. He was finally able to stutter out, "B-but, how is that even…?"

Deciding to not give him a chance to let his loss sink in and cause him to change his mind, Allen snatched up what was now his mama's present with quick succession and cheerfully said, "Thanks, Mista!" And with that, Allen hurriedly ran out the back room and out the shop with prize in hand. This totally made up for the horrible morning he had to spend with his papa in training!

As he made his way into the inn, Allen tucked the present away inside his coat and entered the room they had paid for, where he found his papa currently throwing random stuff around, as if he were frantically searching for something. Noticing Allen at the door, his papa growled, "Where the hell have you been, punk?!"

With an anxious smile, Allen replied, "Getting Mama pwesent."

"Oh. You better not have gotten her one of those disgusting bugs you filthy boys like to play with," his papa scowled, with a wrinkle of his nose.'

"Nope!" Allen was all too happy to reply. Fishing out the black box from his coat, he opened it and showed it to his papa.

Blinking in surprise, his papa remarked, "As long as you didn't get caught, I don't care. Actually, I wouldn't care either way." And with that, his papa went back to his precious wine.

Could his papa be any more predictable?

* * *

**Time Frame ****—**** Morning of February 3rd, 1885**

* * *

Allen was the first to awake that morning. Turning to his mama on the bed, where he slept with her, Allen tugged at her hair and shook her until she blearily open her eyes. Letting out a wide, cat-like yawn, his mama stretched and rubbed her eyes and sleepily murmured, "Morning, Allen."

"Mornin' Mama!" Allen replied enthusiastically, and then exclaimed while launching himself into her surprised arms, "Happy bithay, Mama!"

"Thank you," his mama said, pleasantly surprised, and asked, "How did you know?"

"Papa said so!" Allen beamed.

"Of course," she smiled, but before she could add anymore, Allen said with unconcealed joy, "Mama, I got you a pwesent!"

Not giving her chance to say anything, Allen scrambled out of bed and across the room, where his grey coat had been carelessly tossed to the floor, and took out the velvet box that had been sitting there for the past two days. Scurrying back and climbing onto the bed, Allen clambered onto her lap and held it up to her in delight.

She beamed and opened the box as soon as it was in her hand. Gasping, she stared in amazement at the delicate earrings. "These must have been a fortune! Allen, where could you have possibly gotten these?"

Shrugging, Allen said, "I won!"

"Won? Won _what_?"

"Game!" Allen responded, too happy with her reaction to think anything wrong with her questions.

Before anything else could be said, there was a rapid knock on their door with call of, "Delivery service for the birthday girl!"

And with that, the door was opened. A young maid came in, and with a quick smile, rolled a cart filled to brim with piles of food, before swiftly exiting and closing the door.

"Allen, you didn't—"

A scoff was heard from the next bed over, as his papa interrupted, "Don't give the brat all the credit. That was all me right there."

Blushing a pretty pink, his mama said, "Thank you, Cross." Her blush deepened as his papa stretched and got out of bed. Thankfully, his papa had upgraded his nonexistent pajamas to boxers.

It was a peaceful morning, while they enjoyed breakfast together. His papa had even been considerate enough to not smoke! Afterwards, they went out to town, where his papa took his mama to buy anything that fancied her interest. By the time they got back, it was late afternoon and his mama had excused herself to take a shower.

Shoving him to a sitting position on the bed, his papa said, "It's time we had a little talk brat."

"Huh?" was Allen's intelligent response.

"You see, your mama and I are going to have a special time tonight. It's been my real present since the beginning," his papa explained, though it made no sense to Allen.

"I can see?" he asked curiously.

His papa sneered and said, "Of course not! You can have your turn with some other girl when you're older. But the reason I'm telling you this, is because I'm kicking you out for the night."

"What!?" Allen exclaimed indignantly.

"Don't worry about it kid. Here's some money. There's another inn around the corner. You can stay there for the night and we'll pick you up tomorrow," he explained as he shoved some money into Allen's hands and began to drag him out the door.

"But—" Allen protested.

He was interrupted with a harsh growl, "Look brat, do you want your mother to be happy?"

With a conflicted frown, Allen finally confirmed with a nod, "Yes."

"Good." And with that, the door was slammed in his face. Sighing, Allen pouted, but eventually walked away and outside, where the sun was beginning to set. Quickly looking around, he managed to find another inn all the way down the street. He only recognized it for what it was because he saw occasional people walking in with suitcases.

Hurrying down the street before it got completely dark, Allen made it to the inn and walked to where he saw was the check-in counter. Waiting patiently in line, it took a while for the lady to notice him because he was so tiny, and when she finally did, she stared at him in slight shock before schooling her features and asking in a worried tone, "Honey, are you lost?"

Shaking his head, Allen dumped the money his papa had given him on the counter and said, "Room pwease."

Blinking away the shock, the nice lady asked, "Hon, do you know where your parents are."

Allen nodded, but since he wasn't sure what they were doing, he said, "Busy."

"How old are you?"

Holding up three fingers by forming a circle with his thumb and index finger like his mama had taught him, Allen replied with certainty, "Thwee."

The lady frowned in concern but counted the money nonetheless, while asking, "Will the room be for only you?"

"Mhmm," Allen confirmed with a hum.

"Would you like for dinner to be brought up for you?" she inquired.

Nodding and giving her a smile, he answered, "Yes, pwease."

The lady gave him back some of the money and then called for one of the young maids who she spoke briefly with. The maid then took him by the hand and led him to his room and brought up dinner afterwards.

"Thank you!" Allen called after her, just as the young girl was leaving.

"Yes, sir. Ring us up if there's anything else you need," the maid politely replied.

It was a lonesome dinner, but if it meant his mama's happiness, then it was okay with Allen. After finishing the last of his dinner, Allen realized he hadn't brought his pajamas with him, but shrugged it off and decided to follow in his papa's footsteps by sleeping in his boxers. Allen felt lonely, as he climbed into the large bed, but waved it off and eventually drifted to sleep.

* * *

**Time Frame ****—**** Morning of February 4th, 1885**

* * *

With a large yawn, Allen awoke to bright sunrays streaming through his window. Gazing around the room, Allen rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned. He then realized that the maid must've returned, because a fresh plate of breakfast now stood in place of the empty dish from last night's dinner.

Clumsily getting dressing in the clothes from the previous night—a plain, maroon long-sleeve and black vest along with his black trousers, gloves, and bulky boots—Allen ate his still steaming breakfast and slipped out of the room. He scampered down to the first floor, where to his shock, he found his mama looking a bit hysterical as she talked in rapid tones with the lady from last night.

Running up to her, Allen hugged her legs while calling out, "Mama!"

"Allen!" her relieved voice reached him as she picked him up. "I'm so sorry if he caused any trouble, but thank you so much for looking after him. Here, let me get out some money to pay for the room he stayed in," she spoke to the lady.

"Oh no, don't worry about it. He actually already paid for everything," the lady assured her.

"Really now?" his mama blinked and then turned to him, "Honey, where did you get the money to pay for your own room?"

"Papa," Allen replied, as if it were obvious.

"So _Cross_ put you up to this?!" she demanded, furious.

"Mhmm. Did Papa make Mama happy?" Allen asked, wondering what happened.

Abruptly, her face turned an alarming shade of red and she ignored his question in favor of turning to the lady, "Thank you so much again for everything. Have a good day."

"It was no problem, and you too ma'am."

Exiting the inn, they ran straight into his papa. "Told you the brat would be fine."

Shaking her head in frustration, she shouted quite heatedly, "I can't believe you Cross! You said the innkeeper's wife was watching him!"

"Aw come on, Maria. He's _fine_. And you've got to admit, _best night ever_," his papa replied with a wicked smirk.

Huh? "Mama, what did you do? Can I do it?" Allen asked curiously.

"Sure brat. I'll take you to a brothel and you can have a chance," was his papa's easy reply.

"_Cross! _We'll tell you when you're older, Allen. And Cross, you are _not_ turning him into your own mini-me!"

"Aw, what's wrong with that Maria? You didn't seem to mind me all that much last night," his papa teased, for reasons unknown to Allen.

His mama blushed furiously, but turned to Allen instead and changed the subject, "_Anyway_, do you happen to know when your birthday is, Allen?"

Nodding enthusiastically, he answered, "Mhmm. Mewy Chwismas!"

"Your birthday's on Christmas?"

"Great, now I know when to take you to that brothel," his papa commented.

His mama's indignant yell was heard for miles around.

* * *

**Time Frame ****—**** Noon of July 30th, 1885**

* * *

"Brat! Come over here, now!" he heard his papa's commanding voice from the bedroom. Allen was currently in the bathroom, having just gotten out of the bath and attempting to change into a pair of clean clothes. Unfortunately, it had been another long morning of brutal training.

Allen scrambled out of the bathroom, wearing a loose pair of thin trousers and a light blue, long-sleeve button up, which had been left unbuttoned, as he had rushed out of the bathroom as soon as possible.

"Yes, Papa?"

"Kid, do you know what tomorrow is?"

Allen cautiously shook his head, unsure of what to expect.

"It's my birthday, which means you have to get me something. I really don't how the hell you conned that man out of those earrings for your mother, but you better use those skills again to get me this," his papa ordered, while shoving a piece of paper into his small hands.

The picture showed a black and white image of a regular wine bottle, like the ones his papa usually drank from, except this one seemed a lot fancier and had the words—though Allen couldn't actually read them, mind you—_Romanée-Conti _in elegant calligraphy across the bottle label.

Allen had absolutely no clue how he was suppose to get this, but not wanting to disappoint his papa, he nodded nonetheless and answered, "Yes, Papa."

Smirking, his papa nodded, "Good." And then pointing out at the window to their right, he asked, "You see that shop across the street?" At Allen's affirmative nod, he continued, "That's the liquor store. You should be able to find it there. Anyway, I'll be back later. I'm running out of cigarettes."

And putting on his Exorcist coat in a flourish of thick, black and gold fabric, he dramatically swept out the room with a loud bang as the door was shut. Guess it was time to make a plan. Allen's first action was to search for Timcanpy, since he knew he'd be the only help he'd be getting anytime soon. Now where was that fickle, little golem?

* * *

The first thing Allen did after finding Timcanpy—turns out he was napping in the mini suitcase his mama had recently gotten him—was to show him the image his papa had given him—more like shoved—and send him to liquor store to search for it. Allen knew he'd get caught if he sneaked in there and just spent his time actually looking for it and he'd seen the shopkeeper already kick out a young girl, telling her she was too young to be in there, so with this information, Allen knew he wouldn't be able to legally buy his papa's birthday present.

So what was he to do? He'd of course just leave the money—the leftovers of which he still had from months ago, on his mama's birthday when he was forcibly kicked out by his papa—and just leave it on the counter while taking the wine bottle. Allen didn't take into consideration that it might not even be close to enough money to pay for it.

Unfortunately, when Timcanpy came back, he shook his little body, as if saying that the type of wine his papa had asked for wasn't in there. Allen sighed in frustration. Now what was he supposed to do?

Suddenly, Timcanpy flew up and away so swiftly, it took Allen by surprise. Thankfully, he was back a second later, abruptly rapping his tail around Allen's left hand and tugging him away. "Tim?" Allen asked, though he obviously didn't receive a response. Allen finally gave in and began to stumble forward with Timcanpy's eager body pulling him along. For about ten minutes, Allen walked around the streets with Timcanpy, until they got to the more shoddy part of town. By instinct, Allen began to walk confidently, like he was supposed to be there and knew where he was going, though he looked a little ridiculous considering his size. He wasn't sure where it came from, but Allen had the distinct feeling that he had been in a similar situation before.

Timcanpy finally led him to a shabby little building—if it could even be called that—and peaking inside, Allen came to the startling realization that it was a bar. He recognized it for what it was, because often, when his mama would occasionally leave for a few days to go to what his parents called Headquarters, he would sneak out and follow his papa when he would go out for a drink.

Allen was too little to even think about being accepted into the gambling groups that were always gathered there, but after watching Timcanpy's repeated recordings multiple times, he now liked to actually watched people play the game and learn a couple new tricks every once in a while. Though his papa acted like he wasn't there and like he hadn't noticed him following, Allen eventually learned that his papa was usually watching over him—you know, when he wasn't blatantly flirting with one of the barmaids.

Allen hastily ducked under one of the nearby tables set against the wall when he noticed a group of rowdy men from outside headed towards the doorway. Taking out the now crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, Allen smoothed it out and showed it once again to Timcanpy, saying, "Look, Tim."

Understanding his order, Timcanpy flew from under the table and across the room towards where the counter was. Ducking behind the barkeeper before he could be spotted, Tim began to scan the glass case set behind him, seeking out the words _Romanée-Conti_. When he finally caught sight of them on a single bottle proudly displayed at the center, Timcanpy flew back to Allen, who had been waiting impatiently, constantly fidgeting under the table.

Ducking underneath, Tim opened his mouth in what Allen knew to be Timcanpy's way of wanting to show him something, and an image of the same wine bottle from the piece of paper clutched in Allen's hand was shown to him. Allen gasped in excitement and tucking Tim into his pants pocket as opposed to the pocket inside his coat—too hot to wear a coat in the middle of summer—he began to diligently crawl on the dirty ground and around tables, careful to keep from as many people as possible, which didn't turn out to be too difficult. It was the middle of the day, so there weren't too many customers lingering around, especially with the stuffy feeling of the sweltering heat that seemed to accompany the town. Unfortunately, their next mission had brought them down south.

Allen decided to wait for the barkeeper to leave the counter, which in Allen's opinion felt like hours. In reality, it had only been fifteen minutes by the time the barkeeper decided to take a break in the backroom while the barmaids attended the diminishing customers. Taking his chance, Allen finally ducked behind the counter, and with Timcanpy's help, managed to fine the sought out wine bottle easily enough. Allen slipped the wrinkled bills he'd had for a while out of his pocket and dropped them on the counter.

Unfortunately, just as he began to crawl away with wine bottle in hand, the barkeeper decided to come back out, instantly taking note of him and purposefully stomped on him, causing Allen to slam down harshly on ground with a small yelp. Spotting the bottle being held in Allen's small hand, the barkeeper kicked him away in disgust, making the wine bottle slip from Allen's grip and roll across the other side of the dingy bar.

"Whatta ya think yer doin' boy!? Ya think ya can steal from me!?" The barkeeper growled out while roughly yanking Allen up by his blue button-up. Allen wrinkled his nose in distaste when he was brought face to face with the seething and very sweaty man. The horrible stench of his breath and body odor hit him with a shock. His eyes began to water and even a couple of tears managed to escape due to the reek. Allen cringed as far away as he could manage when he notice the man's decaying teeth and spit came flying out as he threatened him, "Well, ya have anothe' thing comin' boy, if—"

The barkeeper abruptly broke off when he heard the sharp triggering click of a gun right above his ear. Suddenly fearful, he cautiously glanced up and came face to face with the devil himself. In other words, his papa was giving the barkeeper such a menacing and frightening glare, he begun to tremble in place.

"What do you think you're doing with my son?" He snarled in a low voice. Allen almost cried in relief.

"… I-I…" The barkeeper was so terrified, he could barely form a coherent response, not even brave enough to accuse Allen of his theft.

"Put the brat down," he ordered, not bothering with his stuttering. Unfortunately, the barkeeper was shaking so bad that he dropped Allen, not giving the height at which the three-year-old would fall a thought. Thankfully, his papa managed to catch him with his other hand by the back of his shirt with small, "Oof!" from Allen. Realizing what he'd done, the barkeeper suddenly stumbled back and then scurried into the backroom, probably wishing he hadn't caught Allen.

His papa sneered at the man's cowardice and then suddenly dropped Allen himself, but instead of face-planting the ground, he gently landed on top of an enlarged Timcanpy almost the size of Allen himself, though that wasn't really saying much considering Allen's tiny figure. His papa took a quick glance at the glass case displaying a couple of wine bottles and almost seemed disappointed. "Should've known they wouldn't have it in a shitty place like this," he scorned, and then began sweeping out the doorway in his usual manner. Fortunately, Timcanpy followed easily enough with Allen still sitting on top of him.

Allen could practically feel the irritation radiating off him. "Papa?" Allen asked warily.

"What is it, brat?" he practically growled. Noticing Allen's wince, he rolled his eyes and said in a calmer voice, "Don't worry about it, kid. I do give you points for actually trying to look somewhere else. Though now I know I won't be getting my favorite wine."

Allen flinched, realizing his papa must've witnessed his failed attempt of trying to get the wine bottle, and let out a defeated sigh. His papa seemed at little surprised by his reaction as if expecting differently, and with the weary sigh, fetched a handkerchief out one of his pockets. Tossing at Allen's surprised face, he ordered, "Wipe your face, brat. You're dirty and it makes me sick."

His papa's more normal behavior actually made him feel a little better, so Allen began to diligently wipe the tear tracks and dirt smudges away. Knowing that his papa wouldn't want it back the way it was, Allen tucked it away to wash later. Arriving to their room back at the inn, his papa commanded, "Go wash up again, brat. You smell disgusting and your mother will be back tonight."

"Yes, Papa," Allen answered, and in response to this, Timcanpy picked up his suitcase with his tail and flew over to the bathroom. Once inside, Allen slipped off Tim and sat on the closed toilet lid, sighing dejectedly. He'd been _so_ close, but he'd _failed_.

Timcanpy suddenly nudged him, and glancing at his enlarged form, Allen almost stumbled back and onto the ground, when Tim gave him a giant, toothy grin. As scary as it was, it made Allen wonder why Timcanpy was so huge. He could barely fit in the bathroom.

Unexpectedly, Timcanpy opened his mouth large and wide. With a gasp, Allen stared at the wine bottle sitting inside of Tim with unconcealed excitement, cheering with joy.

"Keep it down in there, idiot!" his papa yelled from the room, causing Allen clamp his mouth with his hands to smother down his excited giggles. After carefully setting the bottle down on the ground, he gave Tim the fiercest hug he could.

* * *

**Time Frame ****—**** Morning of July 31st, 1885**

* * *

"Papa?" Allen cautiously spoke up. So far, his papa's birthday had not gone like he thought it would. Though he could scarcely recall his own birthdays, he'd been going off of how his mama's birthday had gone, and this was nothing like it. Ever since his mama had returned last night, all they'd been doing had been speaking to each other over the table in hushed whispers, taking a break of just a couple hours in order to sleep. His papa wasn't even drinking his morning glass of wine, and it was starting to weird Allen out.

Abruptly, his parents quieted upon hearing him and turned to look down at his small figure. "What's the matter punk?" his papa asked in his usual gruff voice, his piercing stare causing Allen to fidget slightly.

"Bithay?" Allen asked, causing his papa to raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah? What about it?" With a sheepish smile, Allen dug beneath the bed beside him and pulled out a crudely wrapped package that Allen had put together himself, and then held it up to his papa's astonished face while exclaiming, "Happy bithay, Papa!"

Noticing that his papa was too surprised to speak up right away, his mama crouched down beside him and offering him a proud grin, she said, "Wow, that's very sweet of you, Allen! Thank you for being so thoughtful." She planted a quick kiss atop his head and then gave his papa an expectant stare.

Glancing back at him, Allen noticed that he had an odd look that he couldn't identify. It made Allen fidget, unsure if his papa was upset or not. Finally shaking it off, his papa turned towards him, his expression still indistinct, but said nonetheless, "Thank you."

Allen beamed, glad for his approval, and demanded, "Open it, Papa!" Crawling up onto his mama's lap, Allen watched enthusiastically as his papa set the parcel on the table and began to unwrap it, his single, maroon eye widening slightly once he'd removed the crinkled, wrapping paper. Atop a single box was a rough drawing of what could only be guessed as being the small family, with Allen's crude handwriting at the top saying, "_Hapi Bitday!_" (His mama had recently begun attempting to teach him the basics). Setting the drawing aside, Allen could hardly contain his excitement as his papa opened up the box to reveal a bottle filled with his favorite wine.

"How the hell did you manage this, brat?!" his papa demanded in an incredulous voice, a wide smirk forming on his face as he picked up the bottle.

"It's a secwet~!" Allen giggled.

"Err, what did he get you?" his mama asked with a surprised blink.

"Exactly what I asked for," his papa smirked with approval, causing Allen to swell with pride. Reaching over to ruffle Allen's dark, reddish locks, his papa said, "Maybe you're not as bad as I thought, punk."

* * *

**Time Frame ****—**** Afternoon of December 20th, 1885**

* * *

Allen hummed quietly to himself as he skipped along the plush, snow-covered streets with Timcanpy flitting about him. It had been about a year since he'd been—in his mind—reunited with his parents, and it'd been the best year of his life—though he didn't have many years to his name. Allen could just vaguely recall his times at the orphanage, and though these memories were a bit unclear, he knew they hadn't been the happiest of times. Here, with his family, he was safe—albeit somewhat. His papa's training could be a bit erratic. Fortunately, they'd ceased with the usual 'Shoot and Dodge' routine. Now that Allen had managed to activate his Innocence—due to desperation when he thought his mama was in danger, only to find out he'd been set up by his papa—they began to focus on that, though it was difficult with all the strain put on his body. Currently, Allen had gone off and taken a break. Hopefully, they wouldn't notice his absence too soon.

Despite that the town they were presently in was located by the sea, it was still frigidly cold; snowflakes dancing about the air as they came and fluttered around Allen in the bitter wind. Snow clung to his dark, auburn hair and froze along his lashes, turning his nose red from the chill. Shivering, Allen pulled his thick coat tighter about himself as he turned a corner and began to stride along the walkway that ran up on the sand, close to the sea. Gazing at the steely, gray waves crashing and pounding at the brittle sand and jagged rocks, Allen was thankful to know he was dry and bundled up. The last thing he'd want was to end up drenched and even more freezing than he already was.

As he made progress further down the stone pathway, Allen gazed at the pier that was coming to into view. Allen stumbled to a halt, when he noticed a small figure perched at the edge of one of the wooden pillars that made up the structure. With wide, silver eyes, Allen hurried over, worried that the boy might actually jump. It was simply too cold for that! But as Allen neared him, he began to slow down and finally came to a stop, just standing at the foot of the dock. Allen stared the older boy's profile, noticing the boy's features. Features that simply jumped out at Allen and scream 'family'. With Allen's hair being more tamed, the other's locks resembled more of his papa; the deep crimson tresses flopping about in messy spikes, albeit much shorter than his papa's. And his one visible eye was a bright, emerald green that reminded Allen of his mama's eyes, though they were shaped differently. His right eye was hidden―yet another similarity to his papa―behind a black eye patch.

"It's rude to stare, you know," the other boy murmured as he gazed solemnly out into the violent sea, startling Allen out of his frozen stature.

"Oh. Sorry," Allen murmured back. Over the months, Allen's speech had progressively gotten better with the help of his mama, and his lisp had begun to disappear, though he still had his high-pitched, childish voice. "What are you doing?" Allen asked carefully.

"Thinking," the other red-head simply said back, not bothering to glance back at him. "Choices are a fickle thing, you know? I keep thinking I know what I want, but then there're moments like this, when I just want to just run and never look back."

Allen didn't really understand what the other boy meant, but he nodded anyway. The action was unnecessary as other boy didn't even look at him. "Are you okay?" It was the only thing Allen could think of saying.

But the question went on unanswered, as the boy plowed on as if he hadn't spoken. "Or maybe _I'm_ just fickle. I've had a year to think about it, and I've reached my deadline… I don't know what to do."

"Thinking about what?" Allen finally asked, as he sat down and leaned against the pillar next to the older boy, facing the opposite direction. Allen figured it might be a while before this one-sided conversation was over. He began to play around with Timcanpy's fluttering form when he realized the other had stayed silent.

Surprisingly, the boy finally replied, "About whether or not I should continue the path I'm on. It hasn't been easy, this past year, but it was the only choice I had. One I enjoyed at first, but it's so ugly. And tonight, I have to either continue it, or go back to the streets."

Allen's brows furrowed. He wasn't really sure what the boy was talking about, but it didn't sound good. Even so, Allen wouldn't have known what to reply to that, so he simply asked, "What's your name?"

"I go by many. I'm at an impasse at the moment, so I don't have one right now."

Allen was perplexed, but he continued, "Your first?"

The other was silent for a moment. "I… I don't remember. Never thought that was something I'd ever say, but I was under strict orders to forget." The boy finally spared Allen a glance, and noticing that his face was scrunched up in confusion, he dug into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. Leaning down, he waved it in Allen's direction and suggested, "Here. Choose whichever you want."

Clambering onto his feet, Allen reached up and just managed to take a hold of it. Smoothing out the crinkled paper, Allen squinted out, trying to make out what it said. After moment, he finally figured it must be a list of names, though the first couple were already scratched out. Names were a tricky thing. His mama had begun to teach him basic reading and writing, but names were the one thing he could rarely get right if he was trying to read a story, simply because they were always spelled and pronounced strangely. Remembering what the older red-head had said, Allen realized he was supposed to choose the name he'd go by. Knowing he'd probably read off whatever name he chose incorrectly, Allen simply dragged his finger down the list until it landed on top of number 49.

"This one," Allen called the boy's attention back to him, and pointed out the name he'd chosen for him.

Taking the list back, the boy leaned down to see which one he'd decided on. "Lavi, huh? Not a bad name. I wonder what story that name will have… "

"Lavi," Allen nodded, satisfied. It was interesting enough. "How old are you?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm seven." He certainly didn't sound like he was, with the way he spoke. "What about you, kid?"

"I'm almost four," Allen beamed, proud. But the boy simply nodded and turned back to his brooding. Frowning at Lavi's reaction, Allen sat back down and then asked, "Where's your family?"

"Family? I'd like to think I have no family, and I guess I really don't. I thought that _man_ would have been my father, but he made it quite clear that would never live up to that title." Lavi's words were bitter, and they stung Allen, because Allen had already begun to believe that they shared the same papa.

"Papa's not like that anymore!" Allen exclaimed childishly as he jumped back to his feet and gave Lavi a pleading gaze. If only the he _knew_!

Lavi gave him an odd expression. "Err, why are you under the impression that we have the same father?"

Desperately, Allen began to dig into the inner pocket of his coat, in which he kept the single picture of his family that a scheming photographer had taken and then demanded a small price for when they were somewhere in France. His mama had actually bought it, to Allen's delight, and had given it him. He kept it on his person all the time, knowing his suitcase could easily get lost―as it had once before. Finally slipping out the small photograph, Allen showed it to an astounded Lavi. His single, forest green eye widened, before dimming over as he turned back around.

"Well, he's got you now. No need to for me to be around." His voice was devoid of emotion, and Allen's frown deepened.

Grabbing onto Lavi's sleeve, Allen forcefully tugged at it until Lavi stumble down onto the wooden dock―as opposed to tumbling waves underneath them. "Huh?! Hey!"

Allen ignored Lavi's indignant call as he began to drag him down the direction he'd originally come from. He had to tell his parents, before Lavi made whatever scary choice he'd been telling him about earlier. After all, there was only a few hours left before nightfall. "Hurry!" Allen urged him.

"Where are we going?" Lavi demanded. Allen didn't bother to answer him as he continued to rush, barely managing to not slip on the slushy snow. Before long, both red-heads had stumbled into the warmth of an inn. But Allen didn't stop there. He continued to drag the other up the staircase, before they finally stumbled into the room they were currently staying in.

"Mama! Papa! I brought brother home!" Allen exclaimed desperately to the pair of shocked adults.

* * *

**A/N: **This is a turn in the story that I've been planning for over a year, though I just wrote it…^^' Hehe, anyway, I hope you liked it! Please review and tell me your thoughts!(:


	3. A Nightmare to Endure

**A/N: **The fact that I'm even updating this again… Seriously, I'm probably more shocked than the rest of you, but after the bout of persisting reviews that recently took place this past summer, I honestly felt kind of bad. (Plus, I kind of completed most of my other fics, _so…)._ Well, here you go everyone!

And thank you to **Vangran**, **Teal96ko**, **leafpool5**, **Alexis-senpai**, **The Muffin Who Eats Cake**, **Glaux Bryonia**, **kickassdani**, **Umecchi**, **Sakura Hyuga**, **Not-Gonna-Update**, **Lemonkittylove**, **XHikariSoraX**,**author12306**, **Ennael**, **Celestial Wolves**, **hobozrule**, **WFHatake**, **Kiomori**, **YullenSunsetKitsune**, **LovePuppy25**, **sempie**, **the Candle Joker**,** liketolaugh**, **lunabane**, **linderpotaku**, **Demi-Fae**, **devil M**,**RaNDoem**, **Guest**, **Devil Wolf Girl**, **blood rose **(x2), **Luce-san** (x2), **Guest #2** (x2), **Failing Wings**, **L'Ombre**, **Lunahras**, **Monkeysloveapples**, **MarburyBlur **(x2), **Kitsura E**, **Kuroi Rin**, **Guest #3**,**RavensStag** (x2), **jy24**, **Relena Duo**, and **mellifluousMondegreen** for all reviewing! Honestly, if it weren't for the persisting reviews and PMs, you probably wouldn't have guilt-trip me into writing this chapter.

(And I swear, if that list is any longer for this chapter, I'm probably not going to thank you with individual names anymore. I love you guys, but that's a lot of people. x3)

By the way, some stuff is going down at the end of this chapter, but this fic isn't supposed to be a tragedy, so for the love of all that's holy, just read and be patient until the next update (you waited over a year for this one after all).

Dedicated to **Sakura Hyuga**!(:

With that said, please enjoy!

* * *

**Disclaimer****: **In a perfect world, I _still_ wouldn't own this, so quit making me write disclaimers! Honestly, if I had a dollar for every one of these I wrote…

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

**Time Frame — ****Night of December 20th, 1885**

* * *

—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Allen~**

"I can't believe this is fucking happening," his papa exhaled heavily, dragging a hand down his face, the other hand occupied with holding an Innocence crystal, its green glow seeming to illuminate vibrantly in response to Lavi's presence.

His mama smirked, arms crossed in satisfaction as she leaned back against the wall. "There's no question to it now, Cross. You _have_ to let the kid stay."

"W-what exactly is going on?" Lavi demanded nervously, fiddling with his scarf, single, green eye flitting between the two adults.

"You're an Accommodator, that's what," he replied gruffly, "An Exorcist-to-be. A pawn of the Black Order. You sure you don't want to walk away now, kid? I kicked you to the curb once for a reason. Once you become a 'Soldier of God', there's no turning back. The Black Order will do anything to gain their precious Accommodators; they will make you _fight_."

"S'not so bad," Allen tugged at his sleeve with a small smile and said childishly, "Mama and Papa train us, and you don't have to make the bad decision."

His papa straightened up in response, single maroon eye narrowing. "_What_ bad decision?"

Lavi frantically glanced around, as if trying to find an escape, feet shifting awkwardly as he fidgeted, no longer retaining the calm, solemn attitude Allen had come to known, nervous before the two powerful Exorcists. Finally clearing his throat, he clumsily admitted, "T-the Bookmen Clan. They demand that I come to my decision tonight; whether I will choose to be trained as a fulltime Bookman Apprentice or not."

"And if you choose not to?" Allen's mama spoke up, lips pulled down into a worried frown, and Allen wondered who this Bookmen Clan could be; _they_ must've been the ones who had taken his brother away from them!

"I-I'm not sure," Lavi admitted, avoiding eye contact and scuffing his foot against the floor. "Gramps admitted that they might erase my memory, though."

"B-Brother?" Allen called his attention, lips pulled down into a pout and moonlit eyes wide in concern. "Stay with us?"

Lavi opened his mouth, but no sound issued as he tried to form words that no one could hear. Finally, words tumbled out, "S-stay? I-I can't…"

"Oh, honey," his mama suddenly crouched before them, gently placing a hand on Lavi's shoulder. "There's no need to fret. Allen clearly wants to you to come with us, and there's only so much Cross can do before the Order gets a hold of you. If it's your desire to become part of this Bookmen Clan, we won't stand in your way, but you do have other options."

The young redhead ducked his head down, mumbling, "I see…" He then abruptly shoved his hands into his pockets, digging around and then displaying what he'd pulled out. "Um, I don't really have much on me though…" Upon his hands laid some random trinkets, a couple of coins, and pebbles covered in lint.

But Allen's mama only chuckled, green eyes crinkling with mirth. "No need for that, silly. Ah, what was your name…?"

"Lavi!" Allen happily answered for him. "Is Brother staying?"

"Hmm, I don't know, _is_ he, Cross?" she mused, tilting her head to gaze at his papa, eyes narrowed, as if daring him to say otherwise. Allen smothered a snicker beneath his hands, knowing his papa couldn't possibly say no, _now_.

The redheaded man sighed heavily, stepping closer despite Lavi fidgeting uncomfortably, heavy hand coming to a rest atop the seven-years-old's head, trying to be reassuring in his own awkward way. "Alright, one brat, two brats; at this point, there probably isn't a difference. Damn, I'm growing soft…"

Allen squealed in delight, tackling down his shocked, older brother. He couldn't have been happier.

* * *

**Time Frame — Morning of January 15th, 1886**

* * *

Allen couldn't have been more upset. But his mama didn't seem to understand that!

"Allen! Come on, baby, we need to go!" his mama, Maria, called from across the park, Lavi already by her side. But Allen stubbornly shook his head, pointedly plopping onto the ground and crossing his arms petulantly. "Allen, what's the matter with you?" his mama frowned, making her away over to him.

Lifting his right foot, he explained with an irritated expression, "Sand in my shoes!" He'd been fine at first, but then the small particles of dirt had sneaked their way inside his shoes, wiggling around his toes and digging into his heals.

His mama and brother made their way over, and as soon as he'd reached him, Lavi leaned over and poked him in the cheek. "Don't be such a brat, Allen. Just take 'em off!"

Allen puffed out his cheeks in a pout, but did as told, and he was happy to allow the older redhead to help him out whenever his feet got stuck in the little boots. Once Lavi managed to tug them off, his single green eye widened as he poured out the fistfuls of sand. "Sheesh, Allen! Did you use your shoes to scoop it all up?!"

"I wouldn't put it past him," his mama huffed, and Allen's puffy cheeks turned red. He had _not_! "Now! Who wants to get ice cream~?"

Allen's irritation vanished in response to her offer and he immediately perked up, shoving his boots back on and jumping to his feet. "I want some, Mama! Vanilla! Vanilla!"

His mama grinned that wide toothy smile that he loved as she playfully scooped him up in her arms and hugged him tightly. "Vanilla it is! And what would Lavi like?" she wondered, turning to the older redhead.

Lavi smiled shyly at her and took her offered hand as she begin to lead them back out onto the cobblestone streets. "I like strawberry," the seven-year-old grin, skipping alongside them.

Allen wiggled in her arms. "I wanna walk too!" His mama chuckled but released him. Allen then took her free hand and hurried alongside her, in resemblance to his big brother. "Mama?" he then wondered, "Where's Papa?"

She hummed and answered, "He should be arriving in an hour or two; we'll be meeting him at the train station then." And in response to Lavi's inquiry as to where he'd gone, she explained, "He returned to Headquarters. You're Innocence weapon is an equipment type, so the Science Division has to built it and then merge it with the Innocence shard before you can use it."

"I see," the seven-year-old murmured thoughtfully, but was then distracted once they reached the ice cream shop. The pair of redheaded boys were all too eager to accept the generous double scoop of ice cream cones, enthusiastically licking and chomping away at the cold treat. While the General had traveled up to Headquarters, Allen's mama had been assigned to a different mission of her own down in one of the southern countries, allowing for a treat such as ice cream to be acceptable during this time of year.

Just as Allen was finishing, he eagerly turned to Lavi, but frowned slightly, noticing that the older redhead had paused, and now his ice cream cone laid forgotten in one hand, dribbles of strawberry ice cream dripping off the edges of his cone. Following his gaze, Allen turned to look up to his Mama, who appeared to casually be conversing with the ice cream shop lady. Allen found that to be a little odd; his mama never liked to linger anywhere; she was much too paranoid for that. But it was as Allen tuned into the conversation, that the situation dawned on him.

"Mama!" he cut in. "Can Brother and I go?" Here, the small redhead motioned over to the wide windows of the shop, displaying the rest of the crowded market place down the street.

His mama, Maria, seemed to contemplate it for a moment, before finally consenting with a cautious nod. "Yes, but don't wander off into any other streets, you hear me? Stick only to this one!" The pair immediately nodded in agreement, and smiling fondly at them, she handed them a small purse of money. "Here, you can buy yourselves a small trinket. Have fun!"

"Thanks Mama!" Allen beamed, rewarding her with a quick hug, and before Lavi could protest, he was promptly dragged out of the small shop.

Lavi was quick to grasp onto his brother's smaller hand, realizing how crowded the street was, and tugged him over so that they could stick to one side. Taking the time to toss out the remains of his ice cream, the older redhead asked, "Hey Allen, what was it that Maria was talking about with the lady back there?"

Allen paused abruptly and turned to him, features puckered into a strange expression. "Maria?"

"Um, yes, your mum," Lavi clarified.

His strange expression didn't shift in the least. "But she's _our_ mama!"

Lavi shifted uncomfortably, hands fiddling with edge of his sleeves. "N-no, she's not—"

"Is too!" Allen shouted, though it hardly went noticed among the throngs of the market place. Stubbornly, Allen crossed his arms and glared up at Lavi. "Brother, say with me, _Ma-ma_! Say it!"

Flabbergasted, Lavi desperately glanced around, as if searching for an escape. But Allen was obstinate and leaned forward with the greatest expectant scowl a four-year-old could muster. "O-okay!" Lavi conceded to defeat. "What was _Mum_ talking to the lady about?"

Allen beamed, a satisfied grin in place. He then thought about the question and shrugged. "Dunno, but it's her job!"

"Her _job_?" Lavi wondered, following after the boundless bundle of energy that the four-year-old was. He then sighed, single eye gazing uninterestingly at the charms displayed upon one of the many booths, Allen barely able to peer at them by only the tips of his toes. "I should've asked a better explanation from Mari—I'm sorry, I mean _Mum_. Cross only mention something about having to exorcise demons—_ouch_!" Lavi yelped, from where he'd been kicked in the shin.

"It's _Papa_!" Allen scolded him, before bouncing over to the next booth, expertly ignoring the vendor's encouraging words—at least that's what Allen assumed they were. He'd never heard anything different from a merchant, but alas, he was unable to understand their foreign language.

"Okay, sheesh," Lavi grumbled, trudging after him, his gaze still appearing apathetic as he waited for Allen to finish up.

Surprisingly though, Allen suddenly pointed to one of the many cloths displayed upon the table. "I want that one, Lavi!"

"Eh? What for?" Lavi questioned, an eyebrow quirked, but Allen remained stubborn about it, so with a shrug, he easily communicated with the foreign merchant. Allen was in awe; his brother could speak other languages! His mama had promised him that once he got the hang of reading and writing in English, she'd help him focus on being able to speak other languages. "Here you go, squirt," Lavi said, handing him the packaged piece of fabric.

As they continued their trek through the masses, Allen now instead focused on tearing open the packaging, and slipping out the thick piece of black cloth. Allen momentarily paused to gaze at it, admiring the golden pattern displayed upon it; it reminded him of dragon scales, like from the picture books he and his mama read. Abruptly, he thrust it into Lavi's hands. "It's for you, Brother!" the younger boy beamed.

"Huh?" Lavi gazed down it, slightly astonished. "F-for me? Why?"

Allen shrugged. "I dunno, I thought it looked cool! Put it on!"

"Erm, how?" Lavi asked, lifting up the piece of fabric and observing it curiously. But Allen only shrugged once again, so after a moment of thought, Lavi folded it and chose upon using it as a bandana. Tying it above his brow and beneath the mass of red spikes, Lavi shook his head somewhat, until his hair stood high, flopping slightly over to one side; the gold looked stunning against his crimson locks. "Uh, is this okay?"

"Yep!" Allen nodded with a thumbs-up.

"Heh, thanks. We have a bit of money left," Lavi remarked, shaking the purse of coins, causing them to clink together. "How about we get something for you too, shortstack?"

"Yeah—wait. Shortstack?" Allen repeated, expression perplexed.

Lavi attempted and failed to smother a laugh, and then nodded over the shop behind Allen, where they'd paused for the moment. Turning, Allen gazed wide-eyed into the cluttered book store, and through the broad windows, he could make out stacks of books taller than even _him_! Allen pouted, "I'm not a shortstack…"

"Whatever you say, shortstack," Lavi snickered, much to Allen's irritation, but before the younger boy could begin to argue, Lavi had already begun to haul him along further down the expansive street. "Come on, little bro! Let's go see if there's anything you like!"

"Okay…" Allen trailed off with a huff, which in Lavi's opinion, appeared to be quite adorable on someone so small. They forced their way through the multitudes, and Lavi ended up hoisting up Allen onto his back, so that he could better see what the merchants were displaying in their individual stalls. Eventually, Allen tugged on Lavi's hair and cried out, "Over there, Lavi!"

With a small wince, Lavi adjusted his grip on him before hurrying over to the neighboring stall. Curiously, they both gazed at the colorful array of toys and children's books displayed in a neat arrangement. Allen gazed longingly at the fancy train set and then, at the small set of British soldiers. Unfortunately, even at his age he understood that there wasn't enough money left to buy something so expensive. He then shifted his gaze over to the set books; he loved reading with his mama! Unfortunately, they'd run out of new books to read, and were currently rereading _The Nutcracker and the Mouse King_; at least the second time around, Allen was able to read some of the simpler passages by himself.

Noticing his gaze, Lavi also moved on to observe the small set of books, frowning as he noticed that hardly any of them were in English. Finally, he plucked one up, and asked, "What about this one, Allen?"

Lavi held up _A Christmas Carol_ by Charles Dickens, and though Allen was oblivious to the book's content, he figured his mama would be happy and proud of him for bringing home a new book. "Yeah! I want it!"

"It's a good book," Lavi nodded with a smile as he paid the merchant. At last, Allen hopped down from Lavi's back and clung onto his book. "Maybe we should head back to ice cream shop. Maria—I mean _Mum_, is probably done by now. By the way, you never did tell me why it was that she seemed so determined to gossip with that lady…"

Allen shrugged as he skipped alongside him. "I dunno; I think it's part of her mission. Sometimes they have to solve mysta-mysto—"

"Mysteries?" Lavi cut in, seeming slightly amused by his mispronunciation.

Allen pouted. "Yeah, that."

"But why? I know she mentioned something about having a mission here to locate a possible piece of Innocence, so why isn't she looking for it? It could be _anywhere_!" Lavi exclaimed.

Allen had the distinct feeling that Lavi had the bad habit of over thinking everything. "_Because_, Innocence is mys-te-ri-ous," Allen declared, careful to pronounce the word this time around.

"Oh? So what? Does it cause mysterious things to occur?" Lavi huffed.

But Allen nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!" He then turned somber; although the memory was becoming distant by now, the small boy could vaguely recall his horrifying experience in the House of Mirrors. It wasn't something he'd ever want to relive; that, he was sure of.

"Like what?" Lavi wondered.

Allen drew up a blank; he couldn't figure out how to even describe the incident in the House of Mirrors, and he couldn't recall anything extremely weird that had happened as of late. He was rarely involved in his parents' missions. Turning to Lavi, he shrugged. "I dunno, ask Mama."

Lavi rolled his single, green eye. "I should've figured. Then again, you are the most helpful four-year-old I've ever met; I've got to give you credit for at least that much." And under his breath, he added, "You're the _only_ four-year-old I've ever met."

Allen furrowed his brow, wondering whether he'd been complimented or insulted. Eventually he came upon his decision, and exclaimed, "Thanks, Brother!"

* * *

**Time Frame — Noon of January 15th, 1886**

* * *

"Papa!" Allen shrieked, racing over through the throngs of the train station and towards the tall, redheaded General.

"Hey there, brat," his papa, Cross, huffed, catching the small bundle of energy in his arms. "I was only gone for 3 weeks. Calm down."

But Allen was too excited and eagerly clung onto the General, enthusiastically babbling about everything and anything he'd missed in the couple weeks he'd been gone. "—and then we were playing hide-and-seek in the park and Brother was all scared 'cause he thought I ran away, but I didn't! So then—"

"Alright, I think that's enough Allen," his mama chuckled, finally arriving with Lavi. In his excitement, Allen had forgotten about them and raced off.

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Mama." Allen pouted as he was promptly dumped into her arms by his papa. "Hey!"

"Oi! Brat number two!"

"_Cross_!" his mama glared warningly at him, and following her example, Allen glared too.

"Alright, alright. Shit, it was just a joke," Cross grumbled, and turned to the seven-year-old redhead. "Lavi, I've got something for you." The young boy immediately straightened up, and Allen and his mama paid closer attention as his papa dug into one of the many pockets of his Exorcist coat, before he thrust a miniature mallet in Lavi's direction. "This is your Innocence weapon, Iron Hammer. Treat it well, and maybe it will save your life one day."

Lavi appeared dubious as he gingerly picked up the hammer. "Save my life? Is Innocence sentient?"

"That's been the argument among the Science Division and Exorcists for decades now," his papa shrugged. "But it's called God's Crystal for a reason. You'd do well to hold a little more respect for your weapon."

Lavi gazed up at the General critically and nodded hesitantly. "But, it's so tiny… How does it work?"

"Beats me," the General scoffed. "You've got to figure it for yourself, kid." Lavi frowned, and seemed ready to ask more, but was cut off by Cross. "Look, I know what you Bookmen are like. We could be standing here all day with you asking an endless barrage of questions." Using a finger, the General tapped Lavi across the head. "Use that intuition you're so famous for, and figure some of it out yourself before asking me anything."

"Um, r-right," Lavi agreed sheepishly, and if Allen was observing him correctly, he had the feeling that Lavi was still slightly intimidated by their papa.

"Good," his papa nodded briskly, before turning to his mama. "Maria, you're as beautiful as ever. How is your mission?"

His mama huffed, but Allen suspected that she was pleased by his greeting. "It's good; I think I've got a lead on the location of the Innocence,"

The General nodded thoughtfully and then directed her, "Follow up on it. I'll take the two brats off your hands and take them on a patrol of the town. There's bound to be at least one or two Akuma here somewhere."

His mama seemed to hesitate, but finally nodded her consent. "Okay. We're staying at Gunter's Inn. We'll meet there once night falls." As soon as he'd agreed, she hugged Allen and Lavi tightly, kissing them each upon the brow and whispering a quick, "Be safe," before she was off, soon vanishing among the masses.

"Alright, you two pipsqueaks, let's go!" his papa commanded, sauntering off into the crowds. Allen and Lavi quickly raced after him.

* * *

"General, I've got two questions!" Lavi finally decided, after about an hour of quietly patrolling the town. "Ouch! Allen, quit kicking me in the shins!"

"No!" Allen crossed his arms petulantly. "You have to call him 'Papa'!"

"What?!" Lavi demanded, face turning a bit red with embarrassment, as he didn't think he'd be forced to do so in front of _them_. "I do not!"

"Do too!" Allen argued back, and then turned to his papa. "Right, Papa? Brother _has_ to call you that, because you're his papa! Right? Right?"

"Kid, you and your brother can call me whatever you want; I don't give a flying fuck." The General then spared them a glance, and noticing Allen's downtrodden expression and Lavi's embarrassed features turning slightly crestfallen, he heaved a sigh. Pausing, he gave Lavi a small knock to the head. "And if you want to call me dad, feel free to. But don't let Allen to bully you into it."

"Hey!" Allen shouted indignantly. "I was _not_!"

"Um, right… Anyway, about my question?" Lavi hinted.

"Shoot."

"Maria already explained to me some of the basics earlier, but I was wondering, how is it that Akuma are made?" Lavi asked.

"The Millenium Earl creates a dark ritual by finding and taking advantage of someone sickened with the grief of losing a loved one. He creates a skeleton made of Dark Matter, and offers someone to revive the person they're grieving for. It used to require a contract, but the Earl's grown powerful enough to the point that he can simply replicate the same results by using the voice of the victim," he explained with unexpected detail, and continued, "So after they call the name of the deceased one, the Earl uses magic to call the soul down and force them into his servitude. But of course, the Akuma still needs a body of flesh to disguise itself with, so the Earl orders it to kill original victim and to use their body."

Lavi turned a bit green. "T-that's sick… I've already been forced to record numerous wars, but that officially takes the cake."

Allen's expression was now somber. "Papa, what happens to their soul?"

His papa shrugged, and replied, "Not that it's ever been proven, but it's likely that the soul suffers underneath the thumb of the Earl. After all, the ritual breaks the basic laws of nature, which is why bringing back the dead has always been forbidden."

"How do you know so much about this?" Lavi turned to him with a peculiar frown. "I mean, I'm sure any member of the Black Order would know the basic ideas, but it's like you know exactly how the Earl conducts this ritual. Have you witnessed it yourself, or…?"

"No," the General denied. "But I've studied Magyk for years. I understand a lot better how the Earl has taken advantage of the gaps between this realm and the next. It's slowly starting to create a gaping hole, and it'll probably come to the point where he won't even need a victim to create an Akuma. It's why it's so vital that we end this war as soon as possible."

Allen eyed his brother and papa curiously, somewhat understanding how serious their conversation was, though most of it was flying over his head. The one thing he understood, was when Lavi asked, "This Magyk… do you think you could teach it to me?"

Allen's silver eyes lit up with curiosity. "And me?"

His papa turned to them, his single maroon eye observing them with scrutiny. "Maybe…" he finally conceded. "But you'll have to first learn how to be an Exorcist. That should be your first priority."

Allen and Lavi instantly nodded in agreement, and Lavi then continued, "As for my second question… How can we detect Akuma?"

They both stared up at the General expectantly as they continued their calm patrol around town; even Allen was curious to know the answer. The few times he'd seen them fight against Akuma, the attack had come as a surprise to him, but neither of his parents had ever been caught off guard. "You can't," was his papa's simple reply.

"Eh?!" they both exclaimed, astonished. "But Papa! How do you always…?" Allen trailed off, unsure of how to describe all the instances that the General had acted like he knew exactly what was going on.

"You both see this symbol on my coat?" his papa asked them, motioning to the golden cross on his Exorcist coat, placed atop his heart. They both craned their heads up to get a good look, and he continued, "It's a Rose Cross. This is the symbol the Black Order uses as a warning to all Akuma, so that they know _exactly_ who you are. You're making yourself a _target_. Anyone who approaches you while you're wearing an Exorcist uniform should be considered an enemy, because an Akuma's disguise is perfect." They gazed up at him, slightly horrified, and he added, "Of course, after a couple years, you eventually can discern between those who are and aren't. It all depends on how sensitive you are to their presence."

They both took this to heart, but even an hour later, they were still astonished when the General suddenly pointed to an elderly man breaking away from the crowds and heading towards them. "See that man? He's definitely an Akuma; reeks of Dark Matter. I reckon he's a Level 1, though." Allen and Lavi could only grow horrified as Cross stepped back and said, "I'll leave this one to you two. Good luck."

"Wait!"

But it was too late. Allen's papa had already disappeared from sight, and the Akuma had already shed its human shell, causing the dwindling crowds to instantly scatter as the Level 1 began to cause destruction with its blood bullets. Fortunately, there had yet to be casualties, and though he was frightened beyond a doubt, Allen knew he had to protect his brother! Recalling the familiar feeling, Allen shut his eyes and called, "Innocence activate!"

Hoping that Lavi would be smart enough to hide, Allen recklessly raced towards the Akuma, only just dodging the blood bullets that ricocheted in his direction. (It seemed his papa's game of Shoot and Dodge had been a blessing in disguise.) Fortunately, he was unburdened by his large, metallic limb, and was able to raise it high as he brought it upon the Level 1. But as a small four-year-old, he was so wretchedly slow, that the Akuma was able to dodge. With a determined glare, Allen raced after it and attempted to attack it from behind this time, but his small limbs didn't have the strength to fully tear through Akuma, leaving it only injured and very, very pissed.

"AHH!" Allen shouted as he ducked and rolled, earning scratches and bruises from the rubble and shrapnel that littered the ground. He came to painful halt, and when he glanced up, his eyes widened in fear. A series of canons from the Akuma were right above him and bent in his direction. But before Allen could cry for help, the Akuma bust into smithereens.

"A-are you okay?" Lavi gasped, knees bent over and sweat coating along his forehead from the strain of having enlarged his Iron Hammer. Allen gaped as the hammer abruptly shrunk back to its original size, and in imitation, he also deactivated his own arm.

"Yeah… Thanks Brother!" Allen beamed at him, ignoring the pain from his minor wounds. He and his brother were safe, and he was sure Papa was proud of them. All he could feel was an immense sense of relief.

* * *

**Time Frame — Night of April 4th, 1886**

* * *

"Where are you going?" Allen piped up, as he and Lavi sat on one of the beds. They were currently in their room at the inn, and watching as their parents readied themselves. It had already been a couple months since Allen and Lavi had fought against their first Akuma, and though his mama had been livid at first, they'd eventually been introduced to fighting against more and more Akuma. As a team, they could now take them by the dozen, but Allen's papa had promised their mama that he'd wait at least another year or two before pitting them against a Level 2.

"Another mission," his mama explained, leaning against the vanity and closer to the mirror as she carefully applied her makeup. "This one is a little different though. Some idiot millionaire located an Innocence crystal. The Black Order offered him a hefty price when they were informed, but the man blatantly refused, and claimed that it was too little of an offer. So we were ordered to commit a heist as our mission…"

"But why must you dress like that?" Lavi wondered, referring to the gorgeous, black ball gown she wore. The thick straps crossed at her chest and wound around her neck, concealing the Innocence cross that was imbedded in her chest. It had a heart-shaped neckline rimmed with forest green flowers that matched her eyes, which also circled along the waistline, before her dress fell to the ground in black, shimmering ruffles. Black, elbow-length gloves shielded her arms and her hair was pulled away from her face and into a bun, revealing the glistening earrings that Allen recalled getting for her birthday.

"This man is holding a masquerade ball and an auction for the crystal, so your father and I shall be attending tonight. The Order suggested that we shouldn't make a scene about taking the Innocence, nor be traced as the work of our organization, to avoid trouble, so they sent over all this, so we can be more discreet and fit in among them. Will you two be alright alone for the night?" she asked, finishing up the last touches on her lipstick and turning her gaze upon them.

"Wow, Mama, you're so pretty!" Allen exclaimed with a beam.

Lavi rolled his eyes, though Allen was sure he agreed. "We'll be fine, Mum."

That was another thing! Lavi felt so comfortable with her, that Allen was happy to see that he didn't mind referring to her as his mama. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for his papa, but Allen was sure he would eventually get there. It was only a matter of time (and more nagging)!

"Maria? Are you ready?" his papa called, exiting the bathroom. He'd exchanged his Exorcist coat, for a formal outfit, consisting of black slacks, dress shoes, a green vest atop his button-up, and finally, a formal, black coat, coattails trailing behind him.

"Ah, yes," his mama replied. "I just need a little help tying my mask on."

Allen watched happily as his papa crossed the room and took her mask (it matched the flower theme of her dress, with four arching, red petals all curving in an x formation and attached to a see-through strip of cloth) and tied it for her; it blended in with her dark locks, and the only thing visible was her pale chin and dark, red lips. Since his papa already had half of his face concealed with his mysterious white mask, he was in no need of one.

"Let's get going," his papa decided, offering his arm to her. "And you two better stay in this room or so help me I'll fucking—"

"Alright, that's enough Cross," his mama scolded him, and Allen smothered down a giggle. "Okay you two, go and get ready for bed. We should be back in a couple hours."

"Bye Mama, Papa!"

"Good luck!"

* * *

Allen woke up with a start. He lay frozen for a moment, before he frantically got up and leaned over to shake Lavi awake. "Brother! Wake up! You have to get up!"

"Hmm?" Lavi rubbed at his eye and sluggishly blinked it open. "What's the matter, Allen?"

"Mama and papa are in trouble!" Allen exclaimed frantically, tumbling out of his bed and rummaging through their suitcase. He picked a couple random articles of clothing and tossed them in Lavi's direction, before swiftly getting dressed himself. "We have to go _now_!"

"Wait, what?!" Lavi demanded, but Allen was already hopping around, yanking on his boots, and seeing that he was about to run out, Lavi changed too, jerking on his own boots as he simultaneously raced after Allen. "Wait up, shortstack!"

It wasn't until they were exiting the inn that Lavi managed to grab a hold of Allen and wrenched him to a halt. "Allen! What's the matter with you?! Where do you think you're going?! Mum and Cross are going to kill us!"

"It's 'Papa'!" Allen automatically corrected him. "And they're in big trouble!"

"How do you know that?!" Lavi demanded, frustrated and still a little sleepy-eyed.

Allen hesitated and then shook his head. "Because I do! … P-please, you gotta believe me, Brother!"

"… Okay. Okay, fine! But you better not be wrong, Allen!"

"I'm not!" Allen argued, before whirling around and taking off down the street, Lavi at his heels. Fortunately, they knew exactly where their parents were. After all, there was only one rich man that resided in this town, and his mansion took up its whole center. They were only forced to sprint through a couple blocks before they came upon its site. Lavi was quick to drag him to a nearby alleyway, and they observed the extravagant abode from the shadows.

"Allen, I don't see anything wrong," Lavi pointed out. The night was quiet, and only the faint sound of classical music drifted towards them at the slightest breeze.

"I-I'm not lying…" Allen furiously shook his head. That dream had been so vivid, that just _knew_ there was something wrong. There had to be! His mama had always taught him to follow his gut, and that's what he was doing! He wasn't _wrong_. He couldn't be.

"I didn't say you were—"

**_BOOM!_**

The aftershock of the thunderous explosion had them flying towards the ground, and for second, Allen was sure that the sharp pain had cause them to black out. But soon, they were both scrambling back up, peeking back around the alleyway, and watching with horrified expressions as fire engulfed one side of the mansion.

"We have to go—"

"No!" Suddenly, it was Lavi who was the resilient one. His brother placed his hands on his shoulders and spoke in a rushed, serious tone, "Allen, I trusted you. So now it's your turn to trust me, okay? You _have_ to wait here! If there are Akuma in there, Mum and Dad can take care of it! We'll only become collateral damage! There's only a one percent chance that they might even be in danger, but _I_ won't take that chance. I'll run in quickly and see if they're still capable of fighting and then run back out to meet you here, but you can't stray from this spot, go it?!"

Stupefied, Allen could only nod in agreement. Lavi's fiery gaze lingered for only a second longer, before he suddenly wrenched away, and took off.

He was shaking so badly, Allen slid to the ground and curled up, sobs wracking through his body and hoping with his all his heart that they were all okay. He didn't want to lose his family! It felt like he sat there for an eternity, just waiting and waiting and waiting—

**_BOOM!_**

Allen groaned and coughed, ignoring the blood leaking down his forehead as he forced himself up on shaking limbs. He was forced to practically crawl out of the alleyway, but part of him wished hadn't

The mansions had crumbled to mere rubble and fire engulfed it. No structure was left standing.

Numb, Allen stumbled onto his feet, feeling like all of his insides had been carved out and dumped in that fire, burning away and leaving him a mere shell; crushing him and pounding the air from his lungs. And the fire continued to lick at him, swallowing him up in an ocean of despair that caused his body to wrack with sobs and keening noises that he could barely force through the lump in his throat, choking him. His eyes burned and his ears were filled with everything and nothing at once; sounds muffled and garbled that left his head ringing with the shockwaves of the explosion.

"Mama… Papa… Brother…" he choked out as he stumbled back, drowning beneath the crushing weight of anguish.

He turned and ran.

* * *

**A/N: **Well _that_ happened. Been planning that for years, actually. But don't be too upset; they're all fine. This isn't really supposed to be a tragedy, but I figured I'd try and see if I could get a response other than, "Aww, that's so cute!" (I promise I'm not evil, but at this point, I doubt anyone will believe me.)

Anyway, review I guess. And expect another update never. xD (Am I the only one who found that funny?)

Nah, I'm just kidding (or am I?). Hope everyone had a merry Christmas! And if I ever get around to writing the next chapter, you can expect this last scene rewritten from Lavi's point of view so that you can see what really happened!(;


	4. In Search of You

**A/N: **Ugh, I was rereading the first couple chapters and realized how much this _sucks._ If I were more invested in this story, I'd probably be tempted to go back and rewrite it, but alas, it already takes so much out of me to muster up the energy to write more chapters… In any case, I can't believe I actually _did_ write another chapter! lol Be grateful! xD

Thank you to** Kuroi Rin**, **jy24**, **Sol's Darkness**, **Guest**, **Ginshi-chan**, **Sakura Hyuga**, **Takei Daloui**, **Galskab**, **NekoYullenDragonAssassin**, **Lena-luvs-cats**,** ToscaThorCat**, **Celestial Wolves**, **RavensStag**, **blood rose**, **RaNDoem**, **Candy Crackpot**, **caity** (x4), **Luce-san**, **RAGNOROKgirl564**, **xXxPhantomxXx**, **Guest #2**, **author12306**, **Kurosora-chan**,**AnimeWarrioress**, **justafreakinweeb**, , **Dhea30**, **NoToLogins**, **Tokoyonokuni**, **PipeDream** (x2), **Pippalina**, **Baloogablue**, **TheBizarreHairTrio**, **YumikoWantsCake**, **0Book0Worm0**, **ALB15**, and **pikaree1** (x3) for reviewing!

On the bright side, you guys waited only half the length that you needed to wait on the last chapter! :3

And sorry if anything looks too odd. I wrote each of the scenes I wanted out of order, before smashing it together into the chapter you have here. I edited of course, but I'm not perfect, so sorry for any mistakes.

Also, please be patient with this chapter. :)

Enjoy!

* * *

**Disclaimer****: **De tin marín de dos pingüé. Cúcara, mácara, títere fue. Yo no fui, fue Teté. Pégale, pégale, qué este mero fue. In other words, I don't own anything, lol.

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

**Time Frame — ****Night of April 4th, 1886**

* * *

—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Lavi~**

Lavi cursed under his breath as he was forced to duck around the shrieking guests evacuating the mansion. But once he'd pushed his way into the main hall that lead towards the ballroom, the issue was evident. A mass of a Level 2s had invaded, crawling and slithering after all those incapacitated by the first, massive explosion that rendered a good portion of the manor to mere rubble. It was a slaughterhouse, but at the center of it all stood Maria and Cross, defeating wave after wave of Akuma. Lavi was relieved to find that they appeared to be handling it just fine and readied himself to return to Allen, but paused, becoming almost numb as an Akuma stabbed its pincer-like limbs into a shrieking woman, permanently silencing her before tossing aside her shredded corpse.

The sight wasn't anything new to Lavi. After recording a good number of wars with Bookman, he'd seen even uglier corpses, more grisly deaths. The old Lavi, the old no-name, wouldn't have had an issue with stepping over her corpse and skipping off on his merry way. He'd been readying himself to become a Bookman for the past year, closing off all emotions to the best of his abilities in preparation for his apprenticeship with the old man.

But meeting Allen and Maria… spending time with them… it had opened up a floodgate of emotions he'd worked so hard to keep under lock and key. And the thought of seeing Allen's face while knowing that he'd mercilessly sentenced the deaths of these innocent civilians—

Lavi gritted teeth. What was he thinking? They weren't innocent. _None_ of them were.

His single eye narrowed as he quietly observed a man ruthlessly shove a woman in the way of an oncoming Akuma before frantically making his own escape. As the man stumbled past him, Lavi didn't make a single move to save him when another Akuma swooped down and snatched him up, instantly piercing the man with its jagged claws, blood vividly spraying in a shower of red.

With a heavy thump, the corpse landed beside Lavi.

Gingerly stepping over him, Lavi began to make his way out of the wreckage, confident that the pair of older Exorcists would easily be able to take care of the dwindling Akuma. Already the numbers were so low that the few left were finally converging around the two Exorcists. Not that there was anyone around left to kill. Only the first wave of guests that evacuated had made it and Lavi had been careful to keep himself hidden among the rubble—

_BOOM!_

Dazedly, Lavi blinked open his dust-covered eye, choking and coughing out the ash in his mouth. Rubbing at his stinging eye and wiping away the tears, he stumbled back onto his feet, gaze flitting about. Fortunately, the small detonation had not caught him head-on. But it brought a whole other predicament to Lavi's attention, because it wasn't until that moment that Lavi began to question the reality of the explosion he and Allen had witnessed earlier.

His first assumption had been the likelihood of Level 1 canons being the cause, but it was clear that the majority of the Akuma were Level 2s, and from what he'd gathered, it was safe to say that with their individual powers, not many of them made much use of the Blood Bullets.

So then, that begged the question: What had caused the first, massive eruption and why were explosives littering about?

Lavi silently crawled forward, peeking around a torn slab of concrete. Through the dust and shrieks of dying Akuma, it was hard to make much out, but once Lavi knew what he was looking for, his eye snagged onto the single Akuma not attacking Cross or Maria. In fact, Lavi was sure that if the pair of Exorcists weren't so distracted, their attention would've instantly been drawn to this particular Level 2—it wasn't remarkably discreet, after all. Even from his distance, Lavi could clearly make out its distinct pleasured shrieks and cackles.

"Hihihiihii~! I am Pyro!" screeched the bright and colorful Akuma as it jumped about the side of the manor that wasn't completely wrecked. Lavi couldn't make out what it was that the Akuma was placing throughout the hall, but he could guess, especially as the Level 2 cried, "AND YOU WILL ALL _BURN_!"

_Oh no! He's going to blow this place down! _Lavi anxiously glanced in the direction of Maria and Cross, hoping they'd at least taken notice. But no. Just as before, Maria calmly stood at the core of the battle, untouched, red lips opened wide as she sang the song of Innocence, easily tearing through the Dark Matter conveying around them, while the General watched her back, Judgment continually snapping back in his hand, bullets shooting out.

Lavi hesitated for only a second, before bolting in their direction, hand fisting around his Iron Hammer. As an unexpected variable, the Akuma didn't have much chance to even contemplate attacking him, before Maria and Cross finally spotted him. Fortunately, for his sake, they manage to curb their attack long enough for Lavi to make it to their side.

"Lavi!"

"No time to explain!" Lavi interrupted with a gasp, briefly wondering what sort of sight he must've made, clothes ragged, drenched in blood, and single eye bloodshot from the debris of the small explosion. "But we have to get out _now_! The Level 2 down there set up more explosives and the place is about to be blown up once more! We're going to be _crushed_!"

"Maria! _Magdala Curtain_!" Cross barked, and though Lavi did not know its significance, they were soon concealed from the Akuma, Cross treating him almost like a rag doll as he snatched him up. In mere seconds, the trio had departed from the mansion—

**_BOOM!_**

The aftershock waves flung them mercilessly to the ground, the heat a thick wall at their backs, with only Cross managing to drag himself up quickly enough to block them from any flying debris.

The aftermath was a bit disconcerting for Lavi as Maria frantically fussed over him. And then, the question.

"Lavi, where's Allen?"

* * *

**Time Frame — Evening of April 5th, 1886**

* * *

**~Allen~**

It was absolutely miserable. The alleyway in which Allen had spent the night and better part of the day in was dank, the smell pungent; he was filthy and so achingly sad; and he was so hungry he felt dizzy. He'd already tried eating an old, moldy apple from the garbage can beside him, but soon after, he'd retched it back up. Shaky and desperate, Allen stumbled onto his feet, warily making his way towards the edge of the alleyway, where a bit of light from the street lamps spilled onto him. Dejectedly, he watched as a boy near his age walked with his parents, and Allen hiccupped as more tears spilled out.

Oddly enough, it seemed many families were passing through the normally deserted street. Peeking around, Allen's moonlit eyes grew wide as the top of an enormous red and white tent came into view. Though most of it was hidden by buildings, its height was enough for even Allen to catch sight of it. Soon after the streets became deserted once more, Allen scramble out of the narrow alley and curiously followed the path that lead to the outskirts of town.

No one that passed took much note of him as he slinked towards the circus grounds. Wide-eyed and expression inquisitive, Allen walked along the massive tent while eyeing the trail of carts and caravans lined up on one side. As he followed the path alongside the tent, he realized that the show wasn't over quite yet. Weaving his way around the crowding adults, he broke to the front, head craned up in order to catch sight of the large man standing atop a small platform.

The man was rotund and jolly with his crinkling blue eyes, bushy mustache, and bouncing ginger curls poking out from beneath his top hat. His overcoat was a brilliant red, coattails trailing dramatically behind him, a shiny cane was gripped in one hand, and he wore a pair of funny-looking striped pants. Unfortunately, Allen couldn't understand a word as the man drew the crowd's attention with his booming voice, accent a bit thick as he spoke in French. But once the man used his cane to motion towards his right, Allen's gaze was drawn to the line of barred caravans. A rickety sign nailed above designated it in English as the _Freak Show_.

At his reading level, Allen easily made out the words.

As the crowds dispersed to get a closer look, Allen trotted over to the nearest cage, carefully mouthing the words on the sign: _Nellie the Dog Child_. Curiously peeking up, Allen instantly recoiled in disgust. The child sitting in the dank and grimy cage was incredibly hideous and reeked of moldy garbage and piss. The features on her face were all smashed into squashy lumps, greasy hair lying in clumps along her lopsided forehead. Allen wrinkled his nose, as he continued to stare… until, after a long while of staring, realized how downtrodden the child appeared. Behind him, adults passed, sneering in disgust, shouting insults.

"Don't stick around too long, kid," one older, English gentleman patted Allen gently on the head, offering him a kind smile, before his face contorted into an ugly sneer as his gaze flickered back to the child in the cage.

"I'm sorry," Allen whispered, holding his left arm close to him, recalling the jeers that not even his parents could keep at bay when someone caught sight of his arm.

Backing away, Allen hurried off, and caught sight of the next caravan. It read: _Rubber Skin Man_. A thin, greasy-haired man with a demonic grin was terrifying people as he pretended to peel his skin off. Stomach twisting at the sight, Allen hurried on. Next was _The Fat Lady _and Allen once again felt repulsed at the sight of the fleshy woman who could barely fit in her designated cage. Layers upon layers of fat hid whatever appearance she may have been born with. Not daring to even glance towards the rest of the prisons, Allen trotted off until he'd rounded back towards the back of the circus tent, where the rest of the carts and caravan were stationed. Already some of the circus workers were heading towards their designated quarters.

Allen practically jumped out of his skin when he felt a sharp tap on his shoulder. Stumbling around, he anxiously observed what appeared to be a grinning clown. Uneasy, Allen staggered back as the clown leaned down towards him, grin not abating for a second. The clown spoke up jovially in broken French.

"I-I'm s-sorry, sir," Allen mumbled, trembling and near tears.

"Oh! You speak English, do you, lad?" the clown instantly switched over.

Lips clamped shut, Allen nodded silently.

The clown then made a silly face, but when Allen did not react, he pouted. "Why do you not laugh? Children love clowns! You… you _are_ a child, are you not?" the clown gave him a dubious once-over.

Meekly, Allen nodded once more.

"Then why are you not laughing? Is something the matter?" the clown asked, expression and tone becoming a bit gentler. "Have you lost your parents, little one? Would you like me to help you find them?"

At the reminder, Allen burst into tears. Frantically, the clown attempted to calm him down, but to no avail. The painful reminder had burst open the dam within Allen once more, and he could only cling onto the slightly panicking clown. "A-alright, come along, lad," the clown stammered, and Allen allowed to himself to be carried away. In moments, he was brought into the tent in which the clown resided where he was gently set down on the cot. Curling up beside the clown, Allen could only hiccup and sob until he fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

Grumpily, Allen blinked open his aching, gritty eyes and licked at his chapped lips. Warily sitting up, the small boy tensed, eyeing the unfamiliar surroundings. He appeared to be in a small tent with the majority of its space taken up by the cot he'd slept on. Beside the entrance flap stood a body-length mirror, and in between that and the cot, a suitcase lay opened. Allen peered over curiously, eyeing the messily folded clothes, what he thought might've been make-up or face paint, and a large colorful suit that he found to be hideous.

It was after a few moments of sitting there, that Allen finally recalled the previous night when he'd stumbled upon the circus and its Freak Show, before the weird clown had found him.

Even so, he instantly tensed up when the tent flap was shoved aside by a haggard-looking man who stepped in. "Sleep well, did you, lad?" he asked cheerfully, but when Allen could only back away, the man pulled a silly face reminiscent to the clown. "It's me, the clown! Don't tell me you already forgot!"

Relaxing slightly, Allen shook his head mutely.

"Well, it's nice to meet you face-to-face, little one," the man smiled down at him, and held out a hand towards him. "My name is Mana. Mana Walker."

Cautiously, Allen offered his tiny hand and Mana shook it firmly as if he were a real grown-up. He giggled. "I'm Allen Cross."

"It's a pleasure!" Mana beamed. "Now, would you like to help me out? The circus is leaving today, and I need to pack everything up or I'll get left behind!"

"Okay," Allen nodded.

"Good boy," Mana grinned, ruffling his rusty red hair. Thoughtfully glancing around, the older man offered, "Would you like to pack my suit case? I'm sure you'll do a great job with that!"

"Yes, sir," Allen agreed, hopping down from the cot and quickly getting to work, much to Mana's surprise. But Allen was good at this. He knew how to pack his own suitcase after all. His mama always told him he did such a good job, after all…

"Allen, why are you crying?"

Blinking rapidly, Allen realized he, in fact, _was_ crying, and getting the man's clothes wet in the process. "S-sorry, sir," he stammered, wiping away the tears before continuing to neatly fold the large articles of clothing.

"It's no problem," Mana smiled as he folded up the cot, "But what's the matter?"

"I… I miss my mama," Allen admitted quietly. _And my papa. And big brother._

"I see," Mana murmured. "But that's okay, so do I!"

Allen paused, brow furrowed. "You miss my mama?"

"Hm? No! I miss _my_ mum."

Allen scrunched his face up. "_You_ have a mama?"

Mana chuckled and explained, "Allen, _everyone_ has a mum."

"But… but you're so old," Allen pointed out.

"Thanks for the reminder," he muttered, and Allen realized that what he said might've been rude. Before he could apologize though, like he'd been taught to, Mana grinned once more. "Come along, Allen! We need to get this stuff loaded onto the carts and then fold up the tent! Would you like to keep helping me?"

Allen nodded, and "helped" Mana carry the folded up cot, suitcase, and mirror onto a nearby cart. Soon after, they took the tent down and loaded that onto a different cart. By the end of it, Allen felt as if he were about to pass out from the hunger. Fortunately for him, Mana shared his lunch.

"Say, Allen, you were a real great help today," Mana grinned, as Allen greedily bit into his half of the sandwich. "Would you like to continue to be my little helper?"

Allen paused, expression dimming. The ache in his heart returned once more, because as nice as Mana was, he wanted his _family_. But, did he really have a choice?

"Yes, sir."

* * *

**Time Frame — Night of May 9th, 1886**

* * *

**~Lavi~**

The guilt was crushing. To the point where Lavi felt that he could hardly breath as his throat constricted and his single eye began to sting with unshed tears. Was this worth it? Was deserting the Bookmen Clan really worth all the pain and misery? At this point, the only thing that kept him going were the few precious memories of the months he'd spent with Allen, with the hope that he might one day regain that. But it had been a month already and no luck.

After practically turning the town upside down for a whole week only to come up empty-handed, they'd followed every lead; searched every orphanage and church in the surrounding towns; asked every family that seemed willing enough to take in a child, and even those who weren't. But to no avail. He'd done everything he could; everything Cross and Maria had asked of him, and nothing. Not one damn thing.

Lavi stayed still and silent as a statue, remaining in the shadow of the doorway. Maria had already sent him off to bed, and for her sake, he'd complied. But he was uneasy, restless. It was only the two of them. She was so distraught and exhausted that Cross had gone off in order to complete her mission before she could even protest. Unable to sleep, Lavi had nervously peeked into her connected room, but the sight of her had only squeezed the breath out of him, his guilt settling like a rock in his chest and crushing his very soul.

Despite the dimness, her familiar silhouette was unmistakable as she kneeled before the tiny suitcase that could only belong to Allen. And it only took him a second longer to recognize the stuffed rabbit she clutched to her heaving chest, her body quivering with quiet sobs. "My baby," she whispered brokenly, "I want my baby back."

Lavi stumbled back as her weeping turned so wretchedly forceful, face scrunching up and tears spilling out as she curled further into herself, because her sobs could not abate the agony.

Soundlessly, Lavi shut the door. He slid down with a muffled thump and for the first time in a long time, he allowed himself to shed tears. For only a small amount of time, Lavi allowed the darkness to consume him in a hole of misery and regret. But only for a moment.

He was no longer a Bookman, but he'd been taught to think like one. For too long already he'd placed the fate of Allen's rescue in the hands of Cross and Maria, and though they'd done the best they could, it clearly wasn't enough. They'd missed something. Something big.

Straightening up, Lavi rubbed away the trail of tears and shut his single eye in concentration. Within his thoughts he mapped out the town in which Allen seemed to have vanished from, placing the image of his little brother where he'd last seen him. _The final explosion is what sent him running,_ Lavi decided after a moment's thought, _meaning he most likely ran in the _opposite_ direction. _From there he plotted the different routes Allen could have possibly taken, before eliminating all the places they'd thoroughly searched. _That leaves… that only leaves the outskirts of town. If that were the case, we would have already found him! What am I _missing_?_

And Lavi's perfect recollection came through for him as he recalled a brief memory.

_"Mama!" Allen exclaimed, grin wide with cookie crumbs dusting his cheeks as he waved around a colorful flyer; an advertisement for the circus. "Take me! Take me!"_

Lavi's eye snapped open.

"Bingo."

* * *

**Time Frame — Morning of July 18th, 1886**

* * *

**~Allen~**

"Mana? Where are we going?" Allen asked, craning his head around to get one last glimpse of the circus tent and caravans. Soon, it would completely disappear from sight. But with Mana's large hand incasing his own, Allen continued to trot along the deserted road.

"They've been skimping down on our wages, and I make a lot more as a traveling clown, so we'll be on the road on our own for a while," Mana explained patiently, though even then, Allen was still a bit puzzled.

"If you say so, Mana," Allen shrugged, not particularly caring one way or the other, as he skipped alongside his new father-figure. But after a few hours of doing so, his small legs began to drag. "Ma_na_," Allen whined, "How much _longer_?"

Casting a careful look around his surroundings, Mana mused, "Hm, we _should_ be arriving to the next town by noon." Glancing down and catching sight of Allen's sour expression, he chuckled. "Alright, alright. Hop on, I'll give you a piggyback ride."

Eagerly, Allen clambered onto Mana's back once the man had crouched down. "Thank you, Mana!"

"Yeah, yeah," Mana grumbled good-naturedly.

Fortunately for the duo, it was only after another half-hour of trekking that they finally arrived to a large town. As soon as they had, Allen was keen on getting back onto his own two feet. And though he'd been allowed to, Mana kept a firm hold of his hand, preventing the small four-year-old from scampering off and getting himself into trouble. Rather, Mana hauled the energetic boy along in order to get settled down in a cheap inn.

"Think you can help me out with my performance, today?" Mana turned to him as he set his suitcase down on one of the twin beds.

With an eager grin, Allen nodded rapidly. "Yeah, yeah! Can I dress funny too?"

"You mean like a clown?" Mana chuckled, before placing a hand atop Allen's head and ruffling his hear playfully. "Of course!"

Without wasting another second, the duo got dressed in the bright, colorful suits Mana had bought off the costume designer from the circus. "Don't squirm so much," Mana had to scold when Allen kept twitching beneath the makeup he was applying.

"It's itchy and stings my eyes," Allen grumbled, but still attempted his best to remain still. Once they _had_ finished getting ready though, Allen hopped around excitedly. "I look as silly as Mana!" he cheered, giggling.

"Alright, little clown! Do you remember our routine?" Mana asked with a grin of his own.

Having performed it plenty of times, Allen nodded as confident as any four-year-old could. "Yes, sir!"

"Then let's get going!"

In a matter of minutes, they'd marched down towards the main street, catching the attention of a couple pedestrians and children. Humorously, the duo remained completely serious and business-like, setting up Mana's top hat before them for tips, and readying their equipment, before finally turning towards the curious eyes of passing townsfolk and bursting into bright grins.

With practiced ease, Mana and Allen launched into their act; Mana jumped atop a giant rubber ball he'd blown up back at the inn, balancing atop it while seemingly lugging out a series of smaller rubber balls out of thin air and juggling them; beneath him, Allen, the miniature clown, burst into a series of flips and cartwheels.

And so, the show continued, gradually gathering a larger crowd as the duo continued to amaze the townspeople with their acts and tricks, sometimes pulling in audience members and playing silly hoaxes on them, much to everyone's amusement.

At one point, Allen allowed another child to squeeze his red, rubber nose. But to his misfortune, the child snatched it and ran off with it, forcing the redheaded child to chase after her in order to retrieve it! By the time Allen got back, Mana had completed the rest of the routine without him and was basking in the applause of the crowds.

With a pout and the mean streak of a child, Allen jumped in there, seized the top hat filled with cash, and rushed off. Mana only took it with a grin, and played it off for the crowd by chasing after him.

But over all, it had been a fantastic performance.

"We made a lot more than I expected," Mana remarked, later in their room after they'd dressed in their regular clothes and removed all the make-up. "How about we get a treat? What do you say, Allen?"

Allen beamed. "Ice cream?"

"You got it, little guy!" Mana grinned, snatching up the giggling child and strolling out of their room. After ten minutes of strolling around the bustling town, they came across an ice cream parlor. "What flavor would you like?"

"Vanilla," Allen easily decided, greedily snatching the cone once it was offered to him. But he hadn't forgotten his manners. "Thank you, Mana!"

"You're welcome, little clown."

* * *

**Time Frame — Afternoon of August 10th, 1886**

* * *

**~Lavi~**

For a while, Lavi had contemplated whether to act like he was enjoying himself, and though he'd always been a good pretender, the thought of pretending to enjoy himself while his brother was missing felt utterly wrong. Even if he only thought to do it for Maria's sake. Ultimately, he ended up sitting stoically between Cross and Maria as they watched the circus acts. Lavi might've been more impressed if he hadn't spent the past couple months battling evolving demons, all the while discovering that his Innocence weapon was actually made up of elemental powers.

But that was a story for another time.

As Maria began to lose hope of managing to locate Allen on her own, she'd become more lenient of Lavi deciding their next location. It had been extremely frustrating that it'd taken him months to track down the damn circus, but at last he had. (He could've probably explained his theories to the two older Exorcists, but Lavi felt uncomfortable giving them hope, because what if he was… _wrong_? Lavi couldn't stand the thought, so he'd kept silent about it, all the while going off on his own to track down the whereabouts of the circus.)

And he'd successfully used the date of his birthday as an excuse to come to the circus. At first, he hadn't thought it necessary, but after scouting the circus members earlier that morning, Lavi realized that Allen was nowhere in the vicinity. For a moment, he'd sincerely doubted himself, but after rehashing the events of that night, Lavi couldn't see what other scenario could have played out other than Allen somehow joining a ragtag group of circus freaks.

(And he wouldn't dare contemplate Allen's chances of survival after all these months.)

Lavi wished he could've found them sooner, but at this point, he could only presume that Allen had only been with the circus for a small amount of time. Where he'd gone after that, he had no idea, but he was going to find out.

Which was the only reason he wanted to have Cross, (his gun), and Maria nearby, just in case he needed backup this time around, because at this point, Lavi wasn't planning on wasting his time with interrogating workers that might not have even spotted Allen. No, he planned on going to the main man himself.

For now though, he simply had to sit through these ridiculous acts.

A small hand suddenly landed atop his head, ruffling his spiky hair. "Are you enjoying yourself, Lavi?" Maria asked with a small smile.

"Of course, Mum," Lavi nodded, offering her a brief smile. Despite Allen's absence, Lavi hadn't refrained from referring to her as "Mum." It felt as though he were somehow keeping a promise to Allen. And it made Maria smile every time without fail. (And maybe a small part of him secretly enjoyed it.)

"I'm glad," she murmured, pulling him close to her as they watched the next act come into play.

His expression dimmed once she'd take her gaze off him. Impatiently, he wondered how much longer he'd be stuck here, and finally, _finally_ it was over! As they exited the tent with the rest of the families that had attended, Lavi purposefully lost himself in the crowd before sneaking back in. Hurrying across the stands and center stage, Lavi snuck into the backstage section of the tent.

It took a while, but he eventually caught the ringleader alone and unawares.

"W-what the hell?!" the large, ginger man demanded as he was painfully trapped between a nearby prop and Lavi's enlarged Iron Hammer.

"You're the leader of this circus, are you not?" Lavi asked calmly.

"Y-yes, now would you be as kind as to release me?!" the man demanded, becoming extremely red in the face.

"No," Lavi remarked bluntly. "I need you to answer me a few questions. By chance, did a small, redheaded boy join your circus in the last couple months?"

"How on earth would I—"

"You're the boss around here, are you not? You must keep track of everyone because you owe each worker a wage, and you would instantly know if some brat or orphan snuck their way into your circus, because you would never allow such freeloaders," Lavi stated brusquely. "Now, I'm going to ask you again and you better think carefully before mouthing off. Was there, or was there not a young, redheaded boy who joined your circus in the last couple months?"

This time, the ringleader remained quiet, before answering, "Maybe. Maybe not. How much are you willing to give for such information?"

With a growl, Lavi very nearly crushed him with his weapon. "Listen here—"

"Lavi!"

"What's going on?" Cross demanded as he and Maria finally located him. Though he didn't think they'd have found him so soon, Lavi was relieved.

"Why are you hurting this man?" Maria asked gently, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder. It wasn't until then that Lavi realized he was trembling.

"This man," he spat through gritted teeth, "He knows where Allen is."

And like that, the temperature dropped. Within moments, Cross had grabbed a hold of the rotund man, the barrel of his gun pointed beneath his chin. "You're going to tell me everything you know, or I'll _slaughter_ you," the General snarled.

Quaking, the man relented. "O-okay! Okay! I-I'll tell you everything I know!"

Cross eased up on the gun, but the circus ringleader was still faced with a set of three, identical glowers. Gulping heavily, his Adam's apple bobbled. "The kid… h-he was around for a couple months, but he left just three weeks ago. He ran off with some clown by the name of Mana Walker."

"Oh. Oh fuck," the General cursed.

* * *

**Time Frame — Morning of December 25th, 1886**

* * *

**~Allen~**

"_MANA_!"

"I-I'm so sorry! I-Is he… alive?!"

But Allen couldn't care less about the woman Mana had pushed out of the way. The déjà vu hit him like a battering ram as he staggered towards Mana. Though he could hardly recall why it was that the dread in his gut was so familiar, Allen knew he couldn't allow it to reoccur. But maybe… maybe it was too late.

Stumbling to his knees beside Mana, Allen tried with all his might to push away the steel beam that had crushed the man, ignoring the gathering crowd of townspeople and construction workers. But it was no use, and to his horror, Mana's blood was smeared across his small, quivering hands.

"M-Mana…?" Allen forced out through the lump in his throat, fat tears spilling down his cheeks.

Eyelids heavy and face deathly pale, Mana murmured through blood-coated lips, "A-Allen…" He lifted his hand a fraction of an inch, before it fell limp, as he whispered, "K-keep walki…"

Mana never completed his final message, but Allen was familiar enough with Mana's beloved phrase.

"Mana…? NO! Come back! I can't! I can't do it… not without you," Allen pleaded, clutching Mana's limp hand between his own.

"H-hey! NO! LET ME GO! STOP!"

But Allen's cries didn't deter whoever it was that was dragging him away from Mana's remains. And it happened much quicker than Allen could think. By afternoon, a small funeral was held for the man who'd saved a woman's life. And though said woman's family attended in gratitude, they did not linger, unlike Allen, who remained inconsolable and refused any of their kind words and gestures. Firmly, he remained beside the cold gravestone bearing Mana's name.

"P-please come back…" Allen whispered, eyes downcast as he curled into himself in a failed attempt to fill the gaping hole in his chest. He was on the brink of being swallowed whole, but nothing could abate the anguish that consumed his heart and soul.

The sky steadily grew darker, until the graveyard was blanketed with the night sky. But not even the gloom could chase Allen away from Mana.

"Mana Walker…" a dark sinister voice whispered, on the verge of laughter. "Shall I resurrect him for you~?"

Anything. Anything to gain Mana back. He'd do _anything_.

The dark frame of a skeleton unexpectedly came into existence before him. Allen stumbled onto unsteady feet, staggering forward.

"Your loved one's soul can be called back~," chuckled the ominous man. "Just call his name~."

Mana. Mana could come back. Allen took a deep breath, and with a mighty cry, shattered the silent cemetery. "_MANA_!"

The skeleton flared to life in a thunder of mauve flames.

"All… en…"

Relief taking a hold of him, Allen heaved a sigh and smiled, stepping forward. "Mana!"

"How dare you… turn me into an Akuma…?!"

Before Allen could fully register Mana's pained shouts, his left eye flashed with burning pain as Mana's dagger-like limbs sliced it open.

"I curse you! _I CURSE YOU, ALLEN CROSS_!"

In his blind rage, Mana reeled forward in order to seize him, but before Allen could be strangled, Mana's skeletal frame was crushed and shattered to pieces beneath the weight of a massive hammer.

"A-Allen?!"

The older boy's face was so achingly familiar, it left Allen in a daze.

"W-who are you?"

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry if you guys are upset that Allen forgot about his family, but it's pretty legitimate. And I say this from experience. One time, when my little brother was around three or four, my dad and I took him on a week long trip with us. When we got back, mom was excited to see him, but my brother just hid behind my knee! He didn't recognize her! So yeah, a whole year for Allen at that age would definitely be cause for forgetting.

So what did you guys think about everything? I know Mana's supposed to be kind of crazy in the head, but meh, I was too lazy to incorporate that. Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm a bad and lazy author, but whatever, at least I got something done! So yeah, review if you'd like!

**P.S. **ALLEN'S HAIR IS STILL RED! :)

**P.P.S. **I'm out of ideas, lol.


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